Monthly Archives: April 2008

München Honeymooniversary

Posted by on 15 April 2008 No comments

Herr and I finally celebrated our first year anniversary this weekend (Herr coined the term in the title based on taking our anniversary around the time of our honeymoon). It was a last minute decision (purchased everything Thursday night and left Friday morning…). We caught the train at 9 a.m. and arrived around noon. Friday was absolutely gorgeous, so we quick took the public transit to Hotel Carmen to drop off the goods, then hightailed it up to Olympia Park.

Olympia Park wasn’t as impressive as I hoped, but it is fantastic to see so many people using it! It is undergoing some decent renovations, but the predominant glass is looking its age (over 35 years). We walked around the park area soaking up the sun, then popped into the BMW dealership building that looks like something out of Star Trek. I got to meet the Hydrogen 7 in person (lucky!) before we spent nearly 50 euro on a fancy dinner on an upper platform of the building. Back at the Marienplatz, we went up a church tower and ate ice cream while people watching.

Saturday turned out to be a bummer. The weather was completely opposite, cold and drizzly. We took a tram out into the German ‘burbs to the Bavaria Filmstadt. I really wanted to see the luck dragon from the Neverending Story. :D Sadly, it was tour-based because the studios are still in use, and we got there in time for the German tour. Herr and I did not understand most of the tour and were unfamiliar with most of the films and shows. I probably would have gone to the art museum instead if I had a choice now. We did try to see the art museum afterwards but ended up lost in the subway system. Herr was happy because he got lots of train pictures. I just wanted to go to the hotel.

Sunday was awesome! We started at the Residenz Palace. Absolutely beautiful and fun to check out. We got an extended ticket, so we saw the family treasures first, then got to walk through the seventy open rooms. What a maze! But it was a beautiful day, so we continued over to the English Garden for a nice walk before our train ride. Around the Chinese tower (looked more German than Chinese) is a beer garden that was very busy. Beer and pretzels! Well, we enjoyed the pretzel part while a live band struck up some merry German drinking songs from the tower. Plenty of soloists and little ensembles at every path junction for music merriment. :-) After a cone of ice cream, we took the train back, arriving a little after 9 p.m.

Overall, I would say Munich has much to offer and see. Hotel Carmen was a very nice hotel, although a bit away from the big scene. We enjoyed their yummy breakfast buffet every morning. :-) The train from here to Stuttgart was terrible; lots of tunnels cause for upset ears. The train from Stuttgart to Munich was very lovely though. It was a good trip, but some advanced planning for cost savings would have been nice.

Back and brand new

Posted by on 10 April 2008 No comments

I returned from DC Saturday morning after a terrible flight with United Airlines. The seats are extremely cramped (this coming from me!), the projector was broken on an international flight (no movies!), and I was unfortunate to have an aisle seat where the chair was constantly being pulled on and the cart managed to hit it every time. A flight attendant also spilled salad on my shoes without letting me know, so I was slipping around with vinaigrette feet.

I am happy *scoff* to say I will be flying with them in a few weeks to New Orleans too. Yay…

Overall, my trip was more painful than anything. I came in Saturday and had to go immediately into work on Sunday, so I had no recovery. I couldn’t meet with some people I had to meet with, and my schedule wasn’t quite hammered out before I arrived, making me very busy some days, very bored others, and just generally in the way. But what else is new? *sigh*

So that’s the “back” part of the title. The “brand new” is the Web site itself! It has been upgraded, after much backup time until midnight last night, and I now have a DeviantArt plug-in on the sidebar! Fancy, eh? See my latest work without having to go to the DeviantArt Web site. ;-) I want to test a few more widgets in the future.

Family Additions

Posted by on 2 April 2008 4 comments

Not only has my work life been on the fast track, but our personal life is moving incredibly fast. About a week and a half ago we brought some new members into our family, and I think they are adjusting nicely. We are now the proud parents of four angel fish, four clown loaches, two cichlids, a bristle-nosed suckerfish named Bob, and a blind eel that bumps into things. They are horribly addicting to watch. :P

We attempted to obtain a dog, but things went awry. She was a seven-month old tri-color sheltie in Minnesota. My aunt picked up two dogs (my brother is getting a second miniature sheltie), and within twelve hours lost her somehow… we are thankful for her time and help, but she somehow lost the poor puppy. :-( At this point, we just hope that it is alive and healthy somewhere. If they are able to regain her, she won’t be making the trip over though. There’s a window of time, and it has unfortunately passed. I was torn in the first place, wanting to help my brother as well as save a cute dog, but it is also terribly expensive to have a dog shipped to Germany. A lot of paperwork, shots, and registration (including microchips). We have renewed our search for dogs already in Germany.

Herr is still searching for a job; it’s been hard but he’s been busy. My brother now has some new speakers Herr made, and Herr is working on the rest of the set now. We are finally getting some furniture as well. I purchased a couch right before I left. It’ll take six weeks because it needs to be built, but it should be nice. We are also getting some additional chairs that swivel. It’ll be a contemporary/art deco/nature theme I think will work very well.

Couch image.

We still need a lot more furniture, including shranks (closets), a kitchen table, a bench, outdoor furniture, and bookshelves at minimum. So pets, furniture, and traveling galore. I’m also doing a lot of training, and Herr is working on getting some computer certifications. It’ll be interesting to see what happens next!

Roman Ruins and Cherry Blossoms

Posted by on 2 April 2008 No comments

Again, I keep extremely busy. A few weeks ago we took a day trip to Trier. We saw some fantastic structures: Porta Nigra, Forum Baths, thermal baths, and an ampitheatre. It was a great city to visit, and I recommend it.

Forum baths. Porta Nigra.

At work I have had so much work that I do not even know what I am trying to do most of the time. On Sunday I flew back to the States. The trip was uneventful, and so far the week has been long. The cherry blossoms are in full bloom in the D.C. area, but I will not have time to go see the main show around the Tidal Basin. I do see them from the metro train, and I did spend some time at the Library of Congress yesterday. Mostly I have been reading Harry Potter… I am now halfway through the final book. Herr finished the series several days before I left. I hope to have it finished within a few days of returning to Germany. :P I purchased the Blu-ray Harry Potter movies, 1-5 collector’s set, so we’ll have to have a Harry Potter marathon before the 6th film this summer.

As for traveling, I will be making another trip at the end of the month to Louisiana. I am pushing for a trip to Korea, but that is unlikely, and we are talking about a possible trip to Egypt. Life is an adventure. :-)