I am an Army Wife LIVING FREE in Germany with my husband, 2 kids and a cat. This will be about my adventures with culture shock and how we all get along...
Previously known as www.paigemtyler.blogspot.com
Paying Bills German Style
Or it may just be European style, but I can't be positive...
Back in America, we paid all over our bills online and we still do for the most part. But here, they pay bills differently since they are very anti- credit card. You get a little bill in the mail that looks like this.
Of course it is in German, so if you don't completely understand it, you must take the time to translate it. I must do this with this particular bill because I have no idea what it is about and they want approximately $90 from me.
Next step is to rip off the bottom of this bill and take it to your bank. We had to open up an account here just to pay our German bills. The bank then makes a transfer from my accout to theirs that is listed on the bill. I think it is interesting. And then I think, 'isn't paying online via a credit card easier for everyone?"
I got another bill today in the mail that doesn't require any translation at all. It is Keith's 27th parking ticket, so I am very familiar with the process!!
Oktoberfest!
This year we got to attend twice! The first round was during the day with the kids and the second round was a weekend evening, just Keith and I and we stayed the night in Munich. Love fest season.
We really only took pictures the first time around. A big camera is a lot to take care of in this type of environment. We hopped a train with every other fest attender and really, this should be considered the pre-party. Though we did not partake, Bridger was surrounded by happy Germans.
(sometimes I just hate my fancy camera and someday i will learn how to take a picture in front of a window)
Inside our lovely tent, probably holds about 6K
I never tire of these booths full of cookie necklaces.
And booths full a Bavarian treasures. I bought a silver pretzel necklace from this booth.
The kids dropped a lot of their allowance going on the rides. At least 3 months worth, but they saved it with type of event in mind.
This year we enjoyed visiting with Brazilians, Irish, Italians, Greeks, Portuguese and of course Americans and Germans. Until next year........
Saltzburg, Austria
For Labor Day Weekend we decided very last second to spend it in Austria, the land of Alps, yodeling, Sound of Music and beauty. It was a delightful good time and and the weather was very reasonable. It seems typical that every time we try to go to the alps- the clouds move in so we can't see the tops of the mountains. We got lucky this weekend.
We took the train all the way there which was really nice. Keith is a horrific driver and always tries to kill us on the Autobahn. So we usually spend a few hours yelling at each other because my life is flashing before my eyes. We will take the train more often because it was absolutely relaxing to watch out the window and read a book.
Our first little adventure was to a place called Hellbrunn Schloss. It was considered to be the Disneyland of the 1600's. There were trick fountains all over the place so the guests would end up soak and wet when they were admiring the castle.
This was a fun trick. Supposedly guest would sit in these chairs around this table to eat and then the fountain would turn on and get all the guests wet. Water came out of the their chairs, the middle of the table and from the ground.
We walked through all these elaborate rooms only to have water squirted in our faces or pop out of the floor and surprise us. I had to be careful with the camera because I never had any idea where it would come from.
Even this cute deer head would attack when you were least expecting it!
One of the first things I noticed about this castle is the color scheme, only because yellow and turquoise are now the new trend in home color designs. Just wanted to point out that trendy color combinations are often recycled because this castle is like 400 years old.
The park at this location was unreal with the view of the Alps. The weather was so gorgeous there were people laying everywhere. And they have no shame, many laid around in their bra and underwear trying to soak up the sun. This is Jadyn by the Sound of Music gazebo. There is a scene where the oldest daughter dances around on all the benches inside of it.
The park where the kids play was even fun for these teenagers. I am convinced that Europe has better parks because the parents aren't sue happy if their child happens to get hurt. So they put fun equipment in them that you would not dream of seeing in the US. Just my opinion but really, what happened to all the Merry-go-Rounds that used to be on the playgrounds of my childhood?
This piece of a equipment is a slanted disk that moves. You are supposed to walk on it without falling off. The kids thought it was cool. I liked the backdrop even more.
This was fun, it was a jumping device where you try and bounce the person on the other side. Keith and I got involved too.
And what kid doesn't love a zip line?
The park was filled with extremely manicured gardens full of gorgeous flowers.
This is another scene from the Sound of Music- I can't seem to recall but I think this is Mozart's park or something. He was born in this city, so I can't be too far from the truth.
Later that night- we met some friends at the Augustiner Beir Garten which is produced by monks. With weather that was so delightful, the Europeans have it right when they take all their tables and chairs outside to eat and drink. (Keith- you look like a tourist in that shirt!) This place was really cool though having to wash your own mugs was different.
Here is Ann Petersen enjoying her weekend here too! We met up with her and her boyfriend and then ran into some other people we knew while here. It was a very lively and enjoyable weekend.
Wrapped around every tree was a coat rack. Looks like they have there a long time. Thankfully we didn't need to use our coats this evening which is very unusual.
The kids did not join us at the Augustiner though Jadyn wanted too a tiny bit. We have decided that the kids are old enough to show some independence, even in foreign countries. We aren't raising pansies, that is for sure because some of the initiatives that the kids already take surprise me on occasion. While we were here, the kids went to the restaurant downstairs and ordered dessert together to enjoy in their gardens and even tipped the waitress. Then they order Sound of Music to watch in the hotel room. Sometimes they are so responsible it floors me.
Man, I didn't have a tripod with me so taking night pics is nearly impossible. But it was soooo beautiful with the castle on the hill and the churches below it all reflecting off the river.
The next day the was the day the kids were really looking forward too. We went to the Salt Mines. We hired a tour guide to drive us out to them and then spent about 2 hours going all through them. We had to dress up in these white uniforms I guess to stay clean. We went down these awesome wood slides to go deeper in the mine. It was a lot of fun. And anyone who knows me, knows that I love salt!!! So I bought quite a bit of what is considered some of the world's finest salt.
Afterwards the guide took us through a replica of a Celtic village to show us how the inhabitants of old days lived. Then he took us to a festival where there were 100's of vendors.
I mean really, where else on earth can you shop under the mountains like this? Jadyn scored a Rip Stick for next to nothing. She learned the finer point of negotiating.
The last day we were here we spent walking and bussing all over the city. We found this communist building that is now a jazz club around the corner of our hotel.
It kind of pisses me off that there is a McD's everywhere I go in the world! I don't care how cute their sign is. I despise globalization and how it makes everywhere you go in the world the same.
It wouldn't be Europe without an awesome fountain and church.
I love store displays, this one was particularly nice.
Cute coffee shop where we finally got some decent coffee.
I just adore Austrian traditional clothing. I want to own all of it.
I saw several clothing items made of grainsacks! I instantly fell in love.
Isn't this fantastic?
I would so wear this.
Though I find wearing a life size parrot or a gecko around your neck a little strange.
Because we relied on public transportation, getting to a grocery store wasn't in my cards. I always love to visit grocery stores in foreign countries because you never know what you will find. But I am going to assume it is very similar to the ones here in Bavaria only because we are so close. Perhaps next time....
ReThink your Edamame
I have been complimented way too many times on my Edamame that I feel I must inform the world that there is NO reason to BOIL them to death! It is completely unnecessary and really makes what could be very appealing not so quite delightful. Boiled vegetables is almost never the answer.
So here is my Edamame where I DON"T follow the directions on the package!
First, buy the dumb frozen bags of them. If you are like us, buy 3 at a time because one is never enough. When you get a craving, heat up a pan with a bit of olive oil and/or sesame oil and add the edamame. If your feeling like an overachiever, add diced up fresh garlic.
Saute the Edamame for at least 15 minutes....
Saute it until you see brown spots! Then add a soy sauce, tamarin, or Panzi sauce. Serve immediately.
OMG - it is delicious. The kids usually insist on an "encore" or another bag cooked up. It is as addicting as potato chips, so be careful,you may get your recommended vegetable intake for the entire week in one sitting.
Cuteness or Weirdness
These are things that caught my fancy while on Vay-cay.
They could be either cute or weird, just depends on you.
I thought this scented toilet paper I found in Croatia was super cute and weird! The 2 scents were peach and lavender which are grown locally. And low lovely would it be to have your rear end smell of fruit and flowers?
Beer- in 2.5 liter plastics bottles. They sell just as they would Pepsi in the States. I hate 2 liter bottles of just about everything because it goes flat so quickly and I will never know about these because the ones we bought we gave away as gifts.
Olive Oil in Croatia was absolutely delicious! And apparently everyone must think so because every single bottle had an alarm device on the top of it. I thought it was weird.
Too bad the pic is blurry- but this wreath was at the guest house in Slovenia. It is made out of snail shells. I think it is weird....
Croatia and Slovenia
This is starting to turn into a travel blog.... I am not really digging that because we do so much more. I am totally going to be better about adding other things here.
But in the meantime, we did travel for 2 weeks in July to Croatia and Slovenia. Our goals were to go someplace warm and to do a whole lot of nothing. Typically we are very busy on vacation, but this time we did a lot of laying around in the sun, reading, visiting with each other and new friends. We also wanted to visit a location that we may not necessarily visit if we were coming all the way from the States. You don't hear of too many people who are planning a European vacation saying they are going to Slovenia.
Keith planned the whole event so he gets all the kudos! I am very particular about our hotels as that will make or break a vacation for me and he outdid himself this time.
So, we drove! It was a long drive but we decided that had to have a car. We left at 6am and arrived to our destination at approx 5pm. We left Germany fairly quickly, drove thru Austria, Slovenia into Croatia. We stayed just south of Split which is right on the Adriatic. We were definitely surprised once we got into Croatia by their road systems only because it wasn't too long ago that they had a civil war. They were far superior and less crowded than Germany's roads. So it really made for a nice drive.
Upon coming into Croatia and leaving (they have closed borders) we were questioned more than I care for. I assume it is because we have American passports, driving a german licensed car. The wait time to enter the country was also over the top. I think it took us almost 2 hours to get in. But once we were in, I could easily see myself staying there for a long time!
Here is our hotel for the first week. We enjoyed the balcony view we had of the ocean every night. And every morning (except 3) we claimed one of those umbrellas to lay under when we weren't swimming.
I promised Keith peace on this vacation so we left this place very few times. First it was extremely hot with temperatures hovering about 100 degrees, so staying close to water was smart. And this place had pretty much everything we needed to include a restaurant so leaving was unnecessary.
One of the days we did take off- we went to Split to visit Diocletian's Palace which is a UNESCO Heritage site.
It was definitely a cute touristy spot but we didn't stay long because it was HOT and second, we have seen so many ruins/castles/colosseums that they start to look alike. Is that bad to say?
The next place we left the hotel to go and see was awesome! So much so that we did it for 2 days in a row. Krka National Park! I had seen a picture of it in the Oprah magazine and tore it out. It was how the idea of visiting Croatia even started in the first place.
Isn't it beautiful? There are several lakes that cascade into each other. This just happens to be at the bottom where you can swim. And swimming is exactly what we did.
But it is always the little things that excite me. I was thrilled with the Croatian grocery stores. They were large, well lit, and plenty of room for me to push my cart down the aisle even if other people were in it. I just don't get that here in Germany. And after so many restaurant meals, it was just time to go get some fresh food and do a couple of meals my way.
This is a family favorite and requires no cooking. Bread with olive oil to dip it in is a must. Olives, salami and cheese is also necessary. After that, it is pretty much anything that is in season goes. So we scored cucumber, avocados, red currents, blueberries, kumquats, plums and a tomato. And this meal ensures that the kids are getting enough fruits and vegetables even on vacation.
After 8 days at Villa Mario we took off and went to Slovenia. Keith found this place in the middle of nowhere via the internet. But since it had such great reviews online, he was willing to go to the middle of nowhere. Or perhaps he thought I wouldn't be able to live up to my part of the bargain this vacation by doing nothing, so this was his insurance policy to make sure NOTHING happened. But we got more than we bargained for.
Upon pulling up I noticed that the building was surrounded by wine barrels full of corks. Right then I knew we would like it here. When we got out of the car, we were greeted with song. Apparently some of the guests where having a great time out back and were letting all the surrounding village know about it.
Boris and Mariam Novak greeted us, had us sit down to rest and they popped open a couple bottles of wine and cut us up some salami and cheese. They told us to unwind and then they would show us to our rooms. When I saw the rooms, I was so happy!! They were beautiful, cozy and perfect for us!
The first night there, the Novak's took us to a local fest with a few of the other guests. It was interesting in the fact that Bridger won a window and a tree. I am not quite sure how it happened but entertaining to say the least. We didn't stay long as the other guests said they would rather hang out at the Novak's then the festival so we went back. I retired to bed, but Keith and Brittlyn stayed up late to go hang out in the wine cellar. I heard it was a great time.
Every night all the guests gathered out on the patio under the grapes to have dinner. It was always delightful and so much fun. Mariam is an outstanding cook.
In the evenings, several locals came to hang out here, and Keith made friends with pretty much all of them. The two men on the end were guests from Switzerland who come here very year to go fly fishing. Apparently Keith has started an email relationship with his one.
Peter, he one who lost the bet! His buddy caught a fish over 50 centimeter, 53 to be exact so the deal was he has to shave off his beard. Alish, one of the locals who also happens to a Slovenian soldier, shaved off Peter's beard. We were dying laughing.
Some other things we did while here was go bike riding, the kids went to the local river to zip line into it. While they were at the river, Keith and I went to the spa to swim and get a massage. The kids slept in a hayloft which they thought was fun. And they played a lot of night games with the Novak's children.
It was a super great over the top 2 weeks!
Greece Part 3
No apologies from me for being away for so long! I hate when other people do that on their blogs. Fact is, I need a break every once in a while and I have a life. This is one of the first things that always goes when I am busy. Though I am happy to report that I am busy HAVING FUN!
I feel like I need to post a few more pics of the Greece trip because it just is not complete yet. And when I turn our European adventures into a family book, the kids will know I slacked on this part.
So....
We sailed to an island called Hydra or Cat Island it was by far the most beautiful place. The only mode of transportation on this island was donkey's, small horses or your own two feet. No exceptions. The houses were built in such a way up the mountain with windy staircases and very small allies that walking seemed like the best way to navigate around it.
Sailing into the harbor was thrilling! So beautiful! But since it was Good Friday there were already many other yachts that had beat us there. We had to park the boat 3 deep so trying to get on the island by climbing over other strangers boats wasn't exactly ideal.
A stunning restaurant with the best views!
Walking around the island and exploring was delightful and warm! We finally found the sun. We even laid out a bit here.
Whenever I see fun door- we always have to take a pic or two!
Jadyn in the neighborhood.
While exploring we found a small grocery store to buy some water from. The kids and I stayed in the 'parking lot' while Keith made the purchase. Jadyn thought this was terrible mean for this small horse to be carrying huge bags of dog food on its back, until it owner came out and hopped on sideways and took off. She almost could bear it.
NO matter where you lived in Hydra- you will always have a great view!
But with stairs like these all over the island- you must be in good physical health to live here. I swear they all live to be near 100, perhaps we could learn something from them.
Later that day we heard there was going to be some kind of ceremony to celebrate Good Friday. So after a beautiful meal in a mom and pop family owned restaurant we started to make our way over to the other side of the island. The walk over was stunning.
While waiting for the ceremonies to begin we ran into a heard of cats. I have never seen anything quite like it. I wish I had a picture of this couple sitting down to eat outside and there being at least a dozen cats sitting under their table at their feet waiting for scraps.
This lady quite obviously feeds them and when she does, they come out of the woodwork. The kids were so excited to get in on the action.
A few minutes later someone threw a firecracker just behind us and the cats jumped 10 feet into the air and simply disappeared. The kids were not happy.
When it got dark all the people on the island gathered on a small beach and waited for the festivities to begin. Since I am not Greek Orthodox I had no idea what was going on. But it was super cold! There was a procession of men who where a bit underdressed. They had made their way all over the island chanting and carrying a cross and this large structure.
They marched it right into the water where they chanted for quite a while. I think I remember something about a priest being on the beach with a microphone reading something also.
Did I mention how cold it was here?
Here is the vacation gang with our sailor Thanos. Hydra seemed like the best place for a group shot.
For the life of me I can't remember the name of the last island we visited. We once again rented quads and went out to explore it. We headed to the ruins of some temple to check it out. I hate to say this, but I am about sick of looking at ruins, they are now all the same to me. Once you have seen Rome, Pompeii and Athens, there really isn't much more that can impress you.
There isn't much left to this place, I was struggling for a picture here!
But what I will never get sick of is beautiful views of the Sea.
In fact, I think I have located my new vacation home!
And with this last shot I think that about wraps up Greece!!!!! Gotta love it!
Chalkboard Fun
Several months ago I put up a large chalkboard in my living room via vinyl because my head was nearly splitting with ideas of what to do with it. Then time go away from me! I want traveling, shopping, working, eating, reading, entertaining, etc. etc.
Today I finally accomplished Idea #1 using my new, renter, military family, friendly chalkboard. Should I mention that my subject matter wasn't exactly thrilled with me. She just got done telling me I should be more OCD about the dishes in the sink. I explained I would happy in being OCD to make sure SHE DID them!
She believed she could so she did.
What a great saying.
Fly away Jadyn!
Love this one!
Not my absolute favorite as my subject was running out of patience. But a good starts.
I have a million more ideas for boys and couples... hopefully I can convince Keith and Bridger
Munich Delight
Munchen is such a fun city to visit and one that decided to keep their quaintness after the war. They voted to rebuilt their city to look just like it did before the bombs were dropped.
I am going again this week but last week I went with Bridger's class to go hang out at an art museum and then visit the food market.
The only art piece I was interested in is the one of a food market. This painting is 400 years old and I like to admire the variety of fruits and vegetables that was available. This is Whole Foods, old-school style.
After this gorgeous lunch in the sun of falafels, hummus and mixed salads with a warm pita I decided to go around and buy dinner for the evening.
It consisted of fresh cheese, mixed olives, salad and a bottle of Rose' Prosecco. I am pretty sure I had more fun then the kids.
Greece Part 2
After 24 hours in Athens we headed to the yacht to start our adventure. It was pouring rain and somewhat chilly. The first night we stayed in the marina, planned our route, opened champagne to celebrate our upcoming adventure and had dinner on the pier.
The next morning after breakfast, we were due to leave for the first little cove where we could hang out, sunbathe, swim, eat lunch, and relax.
I had just showered and was on the deck hoping to blow dry my hair.
Unfortunately within 30 minutes I was super sick and cold. I stayed that way until the evening time when the medication finally kicked in and I gained my sea legs!
The first island we went to (can't remember the name) had a small fishing village where we parked the boat. We were told to go walk around and explore until dinner time where we would be treated with today's fresh catch. We found an ancient coliseum that was difficult to access but we had fun doing so.
We saw a face in the rock formation and thought it was cool. This is also the island where Bridger scored lemons to take back to the boat with us.
It really was a beautiful, peaceful place to spend the first day.
Every morning this is where we met for breakfast.
This is the kitchen where all the magical cooking happened.
This is what the cabins looked like and they each had their own bathroom.
The next day Bridger takes us to our next destination, Spetses.
We pass a very tiny church that is used to baptisms
On this island I enjoyed all the details of Greek living. It was not unusual for the front door to be at the yard's edge.
Love the stairs to these ocean front properties
This island- there are very few cars. 4 cabs and a couple of trash trucks. Cars are only allowed to drive to the port so they can hop a ferry to leave the island. Most everyone gets around scooters. We decided to rent some quads and drive around the island.
We came across a herd of sheep. I teased the kids that the ones marked with a blue stripe are going to be Easter dinner.
Since we stayed on this island for 2 days days this wraps up the first 1/2 of our Greece Adventures.
