I got three weeks of before and after Christmas! 3 weeks to relax, meet friends and be with my family. I really enjoyed the free time! I went to the Dresden Christmas Market with my friends, where we drunk mulled wine and ate Christmas Sausages. Pictures! Christmas Eve we spent at my Grandmom's house in Thalheim, together with my Aunt, Uncle, Mom, Granny and boyfriend. My cousin Stefanie joined us virtually. We video-skyped 2 hours when our funny present-exchange game took place. Steanie also sent us a package from the US, where she put little presents inside. I got Taco Bell seasoning and Reese's peanut butter cups. YAY! The day after Christmas we headed over to my Aunt's house and chilled there. Stefanie's boyfriend Sascha stopped by to pick up his Christmas presents. He also brought us a chocolate photo-cake. On top of the cake a photo of him and Stefanie was printed. Neat idea! Maybe something for my birthday party!? Need to check how much it is. Pictures!
It snowed the second time this year. After the first snow end of October we had about 30cm the first weekend of December. Did I tell you that I do like snow when it is sunny and blue sky, but I don't like the snow mud on the streets. Me and my Mom worked 5 hours on Saturday to get the snow off the driveway but it kept snowing. We were really exhausted, plus we were not able to make some hot tea afterwards to warm up. From Friday afternoon to Saturday afternoon we had no power at all!! No heating, no warm water, no telephone! Felt like we were back to the middle-age. Other than that, here are a few impressions of the winterwonderland: Pictures!
The big 30 is going around! And it catched Nadine - glad that I was able to join her for this big big day. She celebrated into her birthday at Campus in Dresden and I got to meet Nicole and Dani again (both girls went to High School with me). Guess it is my turn next, Febuary is already knocking on the door! Need to brainstorm with Anja about our birthday party, if we will have a party theme and what meal to serve. You know better starting early! Pictures!
End of October, Christmas sweets can be shopped already and this weekend it snowed!! My Mom called me on our way to Adenau that it snowed very heavy in Glashütte. This weather is crazy! We actually hoped for a nice fall-weekend in the Eifel and gladly it did not snow in Adenau. The car race was cancelled due to ice on the road but we went hiking instead. 13 km hike around the Nurburgring, plus we finally went up the Nurburg. From the castle you have a beautiful view on the scenery! The weather was actually great. no clouds at all and even sunny, but very very cold! Guess that was the last time this year in the Eifel, we will come back in April for the first car-race of the year 2013!
My cousin Stefanie is doing great in America. She likes the country and the people. We skyped last week and she looked happy! She got to celebrate American Halloween and she baked german Brotchen, Bretzels and cake for a charity event. Need to send her some german chocolate for Christmas! Talking about Christmas: I will spend Christmas in Thalheim this year, together with my boyfriend, my Mom and my Granny and my relatives. I will be off work from December 14 already, since I did not take any holidays during the year. It is nice to know to be at home during Christmas time, no traveling back and forth this winter.
My cousin visited me in Frankfurt again before heading to America. Yes, you heard right, Stefanie is flying over, not for holiday but for an internship. She will stay in Nebraska for half a year to improve her language skills. I really liked the idea when she came up with it, because my year in the States was the best year of my life!!! I hope that her time in the States will be as good as mine. She will grow personally, with facing a foreign language and different culture. We got to spend a great cousin-cousin-weekend, talking about America, shopping for America and getting reading for America. Her flight is booked, her hostfamily presents are sent and she got her Visa! Stefanie is ready for her USA experience! Gosh I remember my year back in 2003 and 2004 and I cannot believe that 8 years are gone by then. I'm happy that I'm still in contact with my Aupair girls Elli, Aga and Stefanie and that we get to meet each other at least once a year. When Stefanie visited me in Frankfurt we headed to Mainz for sight-seeing: saw Gutenberg's parish church and his last residence before he died on 3 February 1468. Also stopped at the TV station ZDF, but unfortunately it was closed and we were not able to take a tour! Pictures!
On a sunny Saturday me and my boyfriend drove to Weiterstadt, a town near Darmstadt, about half an hour away from Frankfurt. At the palace of Weiterstadt about 150 crazy car fans gethered together. The car they all love is a BMW Isetta, a tiny 2 seat car that can only drive 50 km/h! My boyfriend loves this cute car, so we went to the annual Isetta Get Together and he was in heaven! He never saw so many Isetta cars, none looked like the other, all in different colors! It wasn't only him, I was also kinda facinated! They took a group photo and visitors were able to talk to Isetta car owners or even sit in one! They told us that only 1000 Isetta cars are left in Germany, so they are historical! I remember when we went to the BMW museum in Munich they showed us two Isetta cars! Of course I took some impressions: Pictures!
Another weekend in Adenau awaited us! This time we had tickets for the DTM, a car racing! New this year: my boyfriend's favorite car brand -BMW- attended the racing. We got tickets for Saturday and Sunday and with those we were even allowed into the pit area. Guess what? I met some of the car racers and got their autographs!!! Yeah, back to good old times! My collection of autographs grows bigger and bigger.. The live act this year was a German singer called Tim Benzko, but I did not like him much. Maybe because he sings in German. I like English songs more. The winner of the car racing was ???. Cannot tell you how hot it was this weekend, about 40 degrees, I only remember me eating ice-cream every half an hour! Pictures!
Quarterly I organize a Get Together for students and intern that work and worked with me. It was the first time that we did not book a table at a restaurant or bar, but gethered at East Park in Frankfurt. The weather was great, people brought plankets, drinks and food and it was great evening! See the pictures!
Finally I was able to visit Nadine in her new hometown. An ICE train took me up north Germany, to Hamburg. I arrived at the main train station at around 1:30 pm, locked my suitcase and walked down to the Alster lake. I got 3 more hours until Nadine picked me up, so I decided to walk the 8 kilometers around the outer Alster lake. The walk was really nice, I passed cute little houses, saw sailing boats and had a great view on Hamburg. In the afternoon I met up with Nadine and we went to the Hofbrauhaus for dinner. The same evening the european soccer championship was on, so we watched the game Germany vs Greece at Hofbrauhaus. The atmosphere was great, since Germany won!!! We went to bed early on Friday and got up at 8 am on Saturday. I presented Nadine my master sightseeing plan and was glad she was willing to take me around! We first visited the Hamburg harbour, took a walk along the Elbe river towards Blankenese and went back by a ferrie. Of course we had Fish-brotchen for lunch! I actually had two!! So yummy! Right after lunch I went up the St. Michel church and then we went on a guided harbour-city-tour, where we passed Nadine's last work Unilever. From Unilever we took a bike downtown to do some shopping and then rode the bike to a mexican restaurant! At the restaurant we ate dinner and watched another soccer game! The master plan was to stop at the Reeperbahn before going home to Nadine's, but the Reeperbahn was so crowded with Harley Davidson Fans and soccer fans that I could hardly see any sex-shops. We were actually happy when we finally reached the underground-station to take the train home. Sunday we had rain all day!!! We met up with Nadine's friend for brunch and after noon went on another guided tour thru the townhall. The townhall of Hamburg was very neat, many rooms were golded and had pretty carpets and accessoires. Last stop before going home was another weird art museum. I remembered the art museum in Pittsburgh and the one we went to in Hamburg was kinda alike. The "art" was in a huge hall. The hall was actually empty, there was only hanging a big platform under the ceiling. We had to take off our shoes and wait in line to go up to the platform. When we were finally allowed upstairs the platform was swinging in vibraces. Sometime it was swinging heavy, the other time not. And that was actually it, the "art". I sometimes wonder what it is all about the "new art stuff". If this is art, everybody can create art! Pictures!
On a sunny May weekend my Aupair friend Elli got married. Me, myself and I was invited to join the wedding ceremony at Tabor church in Leipzig. Unfortunately my boyfriend was busy that weekend, so I had to go alone. I spent the night on Friday and Saturday at my cousin's apartment and got dressed there! I wore a really nice summer dress I bought in the States and took the tram to the church. I noticed another girl in the tram that was dressed nicely and remembered her as one of Elli's friends. Fortunately she knew where the Tabor church was located at, because I've never been there before. When we arrived at the church alot of unknown people already waited for Elli and Christian. We met some other friends and when it was time to go into the church we were seated next to eachother. Elli's brother handed out tissues, but I tried not to use them for any tears, since it was no funeral! When Elli and Christian walked into the church we all stood up and looked into their direction. Gosh they looked so beautiful!!! Elli wore a wonderful white wedding dress and Christian looked awesome as well. The ceremony took a while and finally the question of all questions was asked..both said "YES!" and a long kiss followed! And then they were officially wife and husband! After the ceremony we took a group picture in front of the church and left to the party location at Clara-Zetkin-Park. The wedding party was great, we had fun, danced, drunk, played games and ate wedding cake! I felt a little sorrow when I took the cab home to my cousin's. Now since Elli is married it is only me (from the aupair girls) left, who is not married. Two days after the wedding Elli and Christian happily went on their wedding vacation to Thailand! I'm so glad the two had a great wedding and invited me to join their special day! Thanks guys! Pictures!
After 8 years it was time to go back to the USA. On Friday, April 20 I flew from Frankfurt to Newark with Lufthansa. The 8-hours-flight passed fast, I watched several movies and they served dinner. After I landed and picked up my luggage everyone had to wait a half hour to go thru U.S. security and U.S. customs. They asked me several questions, such as: "Have you been to the U.S. before? Who are you visiting? Did you pack your bag by yourself?", but I answered the questions correctly and they let me in. At Newark Airport I had to wait another 2 hours for my connecting flight to Pittsburgh, PA. I found an internet terminal and logged on to send my family and boyfriend a message: "Survived the long flight!" The connecting flight did not leave before 8 pm and Noell already awaited me at the Pittsburgh Airport. But when I got there 90 min later, she waived at me and showed me her Welcome sign! It was great to see her again!!! Guess where we stopped for dinner on our way back to her house? TACOBELL!! 8 years no Tacobell and sure I got my beloved soft-shell Tacos with sour crème and pink lemonade!! Gosh it tasted so good!! They call it "Tacohell" over there, but I cannot understand why!? It is my favorite fast food!! Noell and Matt live in Greensburg, in a nice neighborhood, with their newfoundland dog Sophie and two cats Otis and Stachey. Since Matt was not home it was my turn to get jumped on by Sophie...guess she liked me! You cannot imagine how big she is, I have never met such a huge dog! She looks like a little horse, but she is a good girl! I went straight to bed when we got home and slept until 9 am the next day - no jetlag, thanks god! The second day we met up with Noell's sister Abby and her Mom at some burger place for lunch. After lunch, we went to a Mall nearby to meet her Dad on his birthday. Since it rained all day, we decided to go to the movies, to see "The lucky one". Great movie with a sexy guy, called Zac Efron. In the evening we went to Noells friend's house for a spa party. I have never been to a spa party before, but I like the idea. Two girls from a spa came over to the house and set up two massage tables. The 9 of us all got two 20 min massages: Neck plus back and face massage. It felt great, I finally got to relax after the long flight.
Niagara Falls, Canada
On Sunday we drove up to Erie, PA to meet with Matt. His dad came along, so that he could drive Matt's car back home. We had breakfast and then Noell, Matt and I drove further north to the Canadian border. We wanted to visit the Niagara Falls! YAY! I have never been there before. We wanted to go there when I first visited Noell, but I forgot my passport in Chicago. When we got to the Canadian border it was no problem at all to go thru and there I was, first time in Canada! Our hotel wasn't that far away from the border; actually it was right next to the Niagara Falls. Our suite was in the 14th floor and we had a bombastic view on the Niagara Falls! We checked in and went straight down to the Falls, because we wanted to do the Maid of the Mist boat-ride! And that is what it is: we got a cover-up and the little boat took us right into the Niagara Falls! From down there, the Falls looked so impressive, all the water coming down the Falls, it was amazing to experience them live! Sure we got soaked and I'm glad Noell brought her underwater camera, because I was afraid to use mine. For coffee and cake we went to Reese's, had peanut butter cookies and milk-shake. Before dinner we checked out downtown Niagara city, bought souvenirs and looked for a beer shop. We were too late, the beer shop closed at 5 pm already and we could not find another one. Rainforest Café was our choice for dinner and I had blue-cheese salad with French fries. Yummy! We walked down to the Niagara Falls again, went on a big wheel ride and watched the Falls by night. When it gets dark, the Falls are lighted up in different colors. We took another 100 pictures and hoped they would turn out great� but with my super-duper camera I only got one good picture! Before going to bed we watched the weather channel and it was supposed to snow the next day! Oh no! Fortunately we only got rain the next day. But back at Matts parents' house it really snowed! What to do on a rainy day? Indoor-waterpark! Sure they had one in Niagara Falls and there we went, glad I brought my bikini. We had so much fun racing down the water slides with tubes and being in the outdoor pool. Kind of exhausted from going up the stairs to the slides a hundred times we went back to the hotel and got ready for the ultimate dinner at a very fancy Brazilian steak-house! Glad we went there right after 6 pm because we did not book a table. All tables were taken by 7 pm! For 36 dollars there was an All you can eat- Steak and salad buffet. The waiters were dressed like in Brazil and walked around with different kind of steaks. If you put your coaster to green, they come by and offer you steak, if you turn your coaster to red, they wouldn't. OMG I haven't had such good steaks in years: Rib-eye steak tasted the best! You were not able to try all 12 different kind of steaks, but we tried! After 3 hours, full of steaks and one dessert later we decided to check out the Casino! Last and first time I been to the Casino was 8 years ago, also with Noell and Matt and there we were again gambling and hoping to win. I only spent 20 Canadian Dollars and after two hours I ended up with 15 Canadian Dollars� lost 5 ONLY! I found the game for me: glitter kitties! I went down to 2 Dollars and then, thanks to 15 free games, up to 15 Dollars again! Unfortunately we didn't go home as millionaires but we had fun! That's all that matters! Our short trip to Canada ended on Tuesday and before we went back to the US, Noell and me took another 20 pictures of the Falls and decided to walk over the bridge to enter the States. Meanwhile Matt drove the car and we really walked over the border. Of course we also took a picture at the borderline US - Canada! On our way back home to Greensburg we stopped at huge mall for shopping! Bought everything I wanted: 3 pairs of Jeans, 3 dresses, 3 shirts and my Gap perfume!
Sight-Seeing in Pittsburgh
On Wednesday Matt had to work, so Noell took me downtown Pittsburgh for sight-seeing. We almost got lost on our way but made it thanks to the GPS. We parked the car and took a fairy over the river. Pittsburgh has over 200 bridges, unbelievable! Our first stop: Mattress Factory. That's not really a Mattress Factory but an Art museum! We both love Art, but that was a different kind of art! No paintings, they had light installations, such as: we had to sit in a completely dark room and look straight ahead for 15 minutes. The first minutes, we did not see anything, but when our eyes adjusted we saw colorful moving streams. Or there was a room called "Roadkill", white room with different stuff lying on the ground. Thing is, it did not look like something got killed. Another room had balloons hanging up, you are supposed to write a wish on a little sheet of paper, hang it on the balloon and leave it there. Before leaving the museum, you take a balloon by another person and let it go outside, for the wish to become true. All in all it was different art and if that is art, I can also do it. We had lunch next to a baseball stadium, took the fairy across the river again and I got my skyline pictures taken. Our next stop was Philips observatory, where hundreds of butterflies flew around, colorful orchids were planted and we saw chocolate trees! Great day!
On the last day before going home we chilled! We went grocery-shopping, I bought peanut butter, Taco Bell seasoning, pink lemonade stuff to put in water, peanut butter Oreos, Reese's peanut butter cups, as you can see, I love peanut butter! Noell gave me her peanut butter cookies recipe, so that I can make them myself. Thank you! Dinner was Matt's turn to cook, but he grilled! He has a huge BBQ grill and served mashed potatoes with steak! He finally got his Schöfferhofer beer to drink, that I brought over from Germany and I taught them some German! I really enjoyed the trip, glad I got to hang out with Noell and Matt again and we already made plans for Oktoberfest in September, for them to come over to Germany again! Before going on the plane we stopped at Tacobell (for the fourth time in 7 days) and I tried to enjoy the last Tacos for who knows how many years! But I'm sure I will go back again, I noticed how much I miss the American way of life and how fast I'm back into speaking American English! So hey, America is only an 8 hours flight away! Same distance as from Frankfurt to Dresden by train and 3 hours further east! Pictures!
First Get Together of 2012 took place at Hooters Restaurant in Frankfurt. The response was huge, a lot of students and ex-collegues followed my invitation. We were about 25 people and it was great to see some again. Only the waitresses at Hooters weren't that fast. It took them forever to take our orders and bring our drinks and food! Anyway see the pictures!
My boyfriend and me took a friday off to drive down to Munich. He really wanted to visit the BMW auto museum and I wanted to do some wellness. We left on Friday, early in the morning, and arrived in Munich by lunch time. Parked the car outside the city and took the metro downtown. First stop was at Hofbrauhaus! We both have never been there and only heard about it. Since it was Friday and everybody was working it wasn't that crowded. We easily got a table and ordered our food. I had a yummy steak with onions and my boyfriend drunk alcohol-free beer. Too bad for him, but we had to drive further to our hotel at Starnberg. Hofbrauhaus looked really neat from inside, they also had a typical bavarian band playing. After lunch we went on a little sight-seeing tour thu the inner city: opera house, town hall, some churches. We had to arrive at our hotel by 6 pm, because dinner was served between 6 and 8. We drove to Lake Starnberg and found our town called Feldafing easily! Our hotel-room was kinda old, the beds were seperated and the carpet looked like it needed a good cleaning. Despite from the room, we were disappointed of the so-called "wellness area". There was a swimming-pool, but the sauna was tiny as hell and the gym and squash area were old too. Oh well, in three days we tried everything and kinda liked squash! My boyfriends best day of his life was on Friday! We spent 8 hours at BMW World, Museum and Manufactory! Of course we saw alot of BMWs, old and new ones, and they even had a BWM Isetta! My boyfriend loves BMW Isetta and thinks about buying one! Well, they look cute but only two people fit in. How will Mareike fit in? In the afternoon you were able to take a quick ride in the Isetta, but my boyfriend didn't get a turn, to do so! Too bad for him!! The manufactory was very interesting to see! All those robots working in a small area and fixing a car together. No human is needed! Only at some points you saw workers! And they probably earn alot of money! I'm suppose to put up some car pictures, because my boyfriend said I never put some up from Nurburgring! But this time I did, see the pictures!
It is the last Birthday with a number 2 at the beginning and that means I become older and older. I cannot believe where the years gone to - it feels like I just graduated from High School or came back from the U.S. or graduated from University. One year is nothing, I tell you! I always wanted kids before turning 30 but I guess it is too late for that. Apart from being a little sentimental I enjoyed my Birthday. I took the Friday off and went back home. Together with my Mom and my Grandmom I spent a great afternoon: we got our hair done and went shopping. For 8 pm I booked a table at my favorite Mexican restaurant. Me and my boyfriend invited our friends to celebrate with us into my Birthday. At midnight I even got a dessert for free! The evening was great, many thanks to my friends: Anja, Enrico, Franzi, Romy, Frank, Susi, Nadine, Nicole, Anita, Dirk, Clemens and Melli! Pictures!
We got home late but my Mom prepared a yummy breakfast the next morning! In the afternoon we went to Fuerstenwalde to join the kids-carnival. Dominik and Franz looked so cute in their costumes: Dominik dressed like a fire fighter and Franz was a little lion! The kids were entertained for two hours and the adults drunk champagne. My Birthday evening was kinda chilly, I checked my messages online, we had dinner and watched TV. Around 11 pm I fell asleep after a long long long Birthday.
After my Grandmom's and Uncle's Birthday it was my boyfriend's turn: He celebrated the 32! Same procedure like last year: He threw a little Birthday party for his friends in the western part of Germany and he will join me with his other friends for the Birthday party in Dresden. So Frank and Ramona came over for Coffee'n'Cake and in the evening we met up with Ben and Jerome to go bowling. I actually cannot remember who won the games, but it wasn't me! I need to practice more often, I'm so not into it anymore!! After bowling we went for dinner at a nearby Brauhaus, where we were seated in a private corner! But the waiter did not give us much attention, so we stayed thirsty the half evening...
The annual Stock Exchange Exhibition took place on a Saturday in my hometown. Together with my colleague Enrico we rocked the 9-hours-day! Hundreds of people visited the Exhibition, including my friends Franzi and Nicole. After an exhausting day and a long shower I even made it to the club with Anja and Anita and partied until 2 am. On Sunday I stopped at my Grandmom's, because she turned 82 the other week! Also happy belated Birthday to my uncle, who turned 41!
Welcome to 2012! Another year started and I'm turning 29 in February! My plans for this year are: Back to school and back to the U.S. After three years of working I feel like studying again, my brain needs imput! That's why I plan to attend a seminar for Social Media. If I pass the exams, you can call me "Social Media Manager". The second plan: I want to visit the U.S. again! My friend Noell invited me again and again, finally this year I got a week to fly over. I already booked my flight ticket to Pittsburgh and I'm really excited! Although I only stay for 7 days, we plan to drive up to the Niagara Falls in Canada, visit Noell's family, go shopping and enjoy the American way of life!
My New Year's Eve was very unspectacular: It was only me and my boyfriend! Neither family nor friends. We cooked a yummy dinner, watched TV and waited for 2012. At midnight we watched some fireworks from the bathroom-window and then went to bed. It may sounds boring to you but we both wanted a stress-free New Year's Eve, since work kept us busy all December long!