I don't know why it didn't hit me before, but we're in 2010! A decade has passed by, and without a doubt, it was a decade of HUGE changes for me. Ten years ago today, I was sitting in my dorm room in Dublin, Ireland. What is very exciting too is that I've only recently found my journal from my time in Ireland. It is so much fun to look back, and remember the person who was writing that journal ten years ago. I know it was me, but it seems hard to imagine just how different my life would become.
I arrived in Ireland on January 6, 2000. I was going to spend the semester at the American College Dublin. I was living in a residence hall that was shared between our school and Trinity College. My roomates were Maura from New York, and Evan from Virgnina. Soon after, I began my first class, which was a two week art and humanities tour of Paris and Lyon. When I returned, I started my regular classes and began settling in to my semester in Ireland.
Here's what I found in my journal from February 2, 2000:
Well, my second week of class is over, and am now completely confident that the semester will be over before I know it. My classes are good... Yesterday, I wore my new boots to go to the ATM (5 mins away,) and by the time I got back, I had the biggest blister ever on the back of my heel! It is SO gross! To make matters worse, it is so difficult to get gauze pads and tape. First, Band-Aids are plasters. Second, I couldn't explain gauze. At the pharmacy, they gave me 3 absorbent pads- no more. They told me they only had 5 in the store. All I wanted was a good old huge pack of Johnson & Johnson gauze pads, from good-ol CVS.
Well, tonight I am going out with Kelly and Marta.
...Hopefully, Dad will come visit me. I think I am going to Belfast next weekend. And hopefully, I'll be going to Galway and the Aran Islands in 2 weeks. I'm sure that once I start traveling, it'll make the time go by quicker and maybe I'll enjoy Ireland a little more.
The talk radio had a discussion last night about parking at the police station- then about public housing, which is regular housing bought by the republic and given to the people on the housing list. They charge 7 Irish pounds a week for the same house that costs 200.000 pounds! Its crazy! To make matters worse, they were also disputing if people want to live near people on housing lists. Then they started talking about people would make undesiriable neighbors- immigrants, travelers, and single mothers! Crazy!
...I also talked to Jorn through email- hopefully, during our study week, I'll be able to go to Stuggart for a few days!
... Well, that's all for now, tomorrow is the Dublin tour I didn't go on last week.
Some commentary. First off, when did "gross" exit my vocabulary? I never say that anymore! I still miss CVS, but European pharmacies are much more "homey" to me now. Marta and Kelly became my closest friends in Ireland. In 2008, we reconnected through Facebook. My dad never came to visit (in a few more days, I would have to head home for a month,) which changed plans quite a bit. I cannot believe that I was so smart to listen to the talk radio. I HATE talk radio, but it was a really good way to learn about the culture. I think I listened to that program every night I was in Dublin. I think its funny that I started talking about Jorn (whose name I now know how to spell,) I had NO idea what was to become of "me & Joern." I also know how to spell Stuttgart now :)
What really suprised me though was how I was wishing my time away. Here, I'd love to go back and slap some sense into that Allison, who was wishing away the most amazing experience of her life. And to get back to what? Baltimore? Oy!
And what am I doing on Feb. 2, 2010? I've just returned from my second physical therapy appointment for my back. It went well, and oh yeah, IN GERMAN! I drove- my X5. This evening, Joern will pick me up to drive to my in-laws' house, which is where we are building our house (in Germany) to see my father-in-law's new M class.
I've really enjoyed looking back at the person I was 10 years ago, and where life has brought me today. I'm completely amazed!
Posts mit dem Label memories werden angezeigt. Alle Posts anzeigen
Posts mit dem Label memories werden angezeigt. Alle Posts anzeigen
Dienstag, 2. Februar 2010
Freitag, 15. Januar 2010
My extended Christmas break
2009 marked my first Christmas spent entirely in Germany. We flew back home on Monday. I have to say, Christmas was a little sad here. Since we didn't know we would be spending the entire holiday here, we had no tree, no decorations, nothing. We spent Christmas Eve with Joern's parents. Very quiet. We had würstchen and "special salad" which is a potato salad recipe from Schlesien, the area of Germany where Joern's dad was born. It is pretty tasty. After dinner, we watched Christmas Vacation in German, with Joern's parents. It was a rather enjoyable evening, even though I kept thinking of the ham sandwiches I was missing at Cheryl's.
On Christmas Day, Joern and I were pretty quiet. We went to Joern's parents' for Christmas Dinner, we had duck, dumplings, and sweet-and-sour red cabbage. Quite yummy. It was nice, and very quiet. Unlike home, where we rush between relatives on Christmas Day. But, I did miss home, and miss my dad, and the rest of the family.
We left for home on Monday morning, after running to the Rathaus (town hall) to get an alien registration form since I didn't have time to get my residency permit placed in my new passport.
The flight home was uneventful, and we arrived at 1:30 in the afternoon to find my cousin Bill and my cousin Katie's boyfriend waiting for us. I have to admit, it is always nice to see a friendly face when you get off the airplane. Makes you feel loved.
We were home for about 11 days. We spent a good portion of time with my dad, and my sister Ginia. We also spent some time with my aunt and cousins, but they were all sick, which was sad. It was ridiculously cold at home, so we decided to cancel our annual New York trip. Much too cold. We did manage to spend a great deal of time on Long Island though, at the outlets in Riverhead. We had dinner with my godparents, which was an enjoyable night, and we were able to talk about our upcoming trip to New Hampshire in February.
Of course, we made our obligatory restaurant stops too: Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Duchess, Bagel King, and the Cracker Barrel.
The time home flew by, and before we knew it, we were back in the airplane to fly home.
Of course, I haven't mentioned my back yet. A few years ago, I had the most horriffic experience with my back, all from sleeping in a bed that was far too soft. When were home this year, we were sleeping on an air mattress. I don't think we had the mattress properly inflated, and after a week, I could feel my back starting to rebel. I was getting nervous that the flight back would be miserable, but surprisingly, it was okay. It was the 2 hour car ride back from Frankfurt that was the beginning of the end. My back has now been miserable for a week. I went to the doctor on Monday, and he gave me a shot, perscribed some pain meds and muscle relaxers, and wrote me out of work for a week. Now, its Friday, and I can't say things have improved at all. Its been a miserable week. I feel good and would love to get back to the kids and my friends at work. I have an appoinment again with the doctor in about an hour. I hope he can help!
On Christmas Day, Joern and I were pretty quiet. We went to Joern's parents' for Christmas Dinner, we had duck, dumplings, and sweet-and-sour red cabbage. Quite yummy. It was nice, and very quiet. Unlike home, where we rush between relatives on Christmas Day. But, I did miss home, and miss my dad, and the rest of the family.
We left for home on Monday morning, after running to the Rathaus (town hall) to get an alien registration form since I didn't have time to get my residency permit placed in my new passport.
The flight home was uneventful, and we arrived at 1:30 in the afternoon to find my cousin Bill and my cousin Katie's boyfriend waiting for us. I have to admit, it is always nice to see a friendly face when you get off the airplane. Makes you feel loved.
We were home for about 11 days. We spent a good portion of time with my dad, and my sister Ginia. We also spent some time with my aunt and cousins, but they were all sick, which was sad. It was ridiculously cold at home, so we decided to cancel our annual New York trip. Much too cold. We did manage to spend a great deal of time on Long Island though, at the outlets in Riverhead. We had dinner with my godparents, which was an enjoyable night, and we were able to talk about our upcoming trip to New Hampshire in February.
Of course, we made our obligatory restaurant stops too: Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Duchess, Bagel King, and the Cracker Barrel.
The time home flew by, and before we knew it, we were back in the airplane to fly home.
Of course, I haven't mentioned my back yet. A few years ago, I had the most horriffic experience with my back, all from sleeping in a bed that was far too soft. When were home this year, we were sleeping on an air mattress. I don't think we had the mattress properly inflated, and after a week, I could feel my back starting to rebel. I was getting nervous that the flight back would be miserable, but surprisingly, it was okay. It was the 2 hour car ride back from Frankfurt that was the beginning of the end. My back has now been miserable for a week. I went to the doctor on Monday, and he gave me a shot, perscribed some pain meds and muscle relaxers, and wrote me out of work for a week. Now, its Friday, and I can't say things have improved at all. Its been a miserable week. I feel good and would love to get back to the kids and my friends at work. I have an appoinment again with the doctor in about an hour. I hope he can help!
Sonntag, 7. September 2008
Fröhe Weihnachten!!! and other NEWS from Germany
It turns out that Americans begin Christmas-themed shopping in the summer, and Germans begin Christmas food shopping not long after that. I know that Christmas foods begin appearing in grocery stores quite early, but was taken quite by surprise this year. One of the little girls in my class had some wonderfully spicy Spekulatius cookies. I was so excited and surprised, I made Joern take me to the grocery store yesterday to search for Christmas goodies.
Unfortunately, we did not go to the Kaufland, the large chain that usually has their Christmas goods out before anyone else. Instead, we went to the Real, another chain. They only had the beginnings of Christmas, like; winter teas, winter spiced granola bars, Stollen (a special bread with dried fruits and powdered sugar on top). I also raced to the yogurt section to see if they had my favorite yougurt, Baked Apple, yet. Unfortunately, they did not. So, we settled on beginning the very long Christmas season by brining home a small marzipan Stollen, which is traditionally served to guests with coffee, and some Advent Pear and Cinnamon yogurt.
I'm quite certain that a large Christmas food assortment will be available in many grocery stores within the next week or so.
In other NEWS, I'm all excited about my German news! I bought my latest copy of the Lift, which is a monthly magazine that highlights many events in Stuttgart.
I really like the Lift, because it tells you all about art exhibitions, musical events, and this month highlights the many festivals which take place in September, which seems to be the kick-off of "Fest season." The magazine is especially useful to those of us who don't live directly in a city, and don't have the same access to information. I am so excited to take advantage of the many wonderful things that Stuttgart has to offer.
I have also found a few new websites offering German news in English. The Local, which also offers news on lifestyle and culture from an Expat twist. It is really great.
The Bild, which is a German tabloid, known best for being a newspaper for the low educated and daily topless woman on the cover, but great for a quick spattering of important information, now offers an English version online. Not for great New York Times style reporting, but good for a quick news fix!
Unfortunately, we did not go to the Kaufland, the large chain that usually has their Christmas goods out before anyone else. Instead, we went to the Real, another chain. They only had the beginnings of Christmas, like; winter teas, winter spiced granola bars, Stollen (a special bread with dried fruits and powdered sugar on top). I also raced to the yogurt section to see if they had my favorite yougurt, Baked Apple, yet. Unfortunately, they did not. So, we settled on beginning the very long Christmas season by brining home a small marzipan Stollen, which is traditionally served to guests with coffee, and some Advent Pear and Cinnamon yogurt.
I'm quite certain that a large Christmas food assortment will be available in many grocery stores within the next week or so.
In other NEWS, I'm all excited about my German news! I bought my latest copy of the Lift, which is a monthly magazine that highlights many events in Stuttgart.
I really like the Lift, because it tells you all about art exhibitions, musical events, and this month highlights the many festivals which take place in September, which seems to be the kick-off of "Fest season." The magazine is especially useful to those of us who don't live directly in a city, and don't have the same access to information. I am so excited to take advantage of the many wonderful things that Stuttgart has to offer.
I have also found a few new websites offering German news in English. The Local, which also offers news on lifestyle and culture from an Expat twist. It is really great.
The Bild, which is a German tabloid, known best for being a newspaper for the low educated and daily topless woman on the cover, but great for a quick spattering of important information, now offers an English version online. Not for great New York Times style reporting, but good for a quick news fix!
Mittwoch, 3. September 2008
Say CHEESE! Blue, that is!
One of the most curious things about being an expat is the total change in your relationship to food. I swear, if I never lived here, if I never called two places home, I would never be this size.
When you move abroad, you find that not all American food exists all over the globe. Sure, a semester abroad meant goodbye to Oreos, and peanut butter, unless you wanted to spend then $7.00 for a jar. But it was easy to give up these foods when I knew that my time away from them was finite. I could even give up my beloved Kraft Macaroni and Cheese for a few months, knowing full well that within my first week of returning home, I would devour a box of that wonderful chemically golden delight.
It is totally different living abroad though. It starts when the honeymoon period is over. After you have eaten your height in pretzels, mustard, pork neck and sausages, you start to say, "Hey where can I buy a great burger? or some great chicken wings, or insert your favorite food." Then you realize that you simply cannot get those items in your new home country. Sure, you find new foods you like, but every now and then, you find your mind and tastebuds wandering back to "home food."
It isn't only that the food tastes good, "home food" has much deeper meaning. "Home food" is a little piece of home, while being so far from home. The unfortunate effect of this is that you find yourself eating foods that you would not normally eat, or would only eat in small quantities.
Like, blue cheese dressing. While Joern and I were shopping in France, we found Heinz Blue Cheese dressing. No cause for alarm, except for the fact that it is impossible to find a good blue cheese dressing here. At home, I would only eat blue cheese dressing with buffalo wings, which before moving, was once a year. Now, to hold a bottle of blue cheese dressing in my hand feels like holding so much of my pre-Germany life in my hands. Tonight, we cracked open the bottle. It truly served its purpose, to momentarily ease the part of me that has permanent homesickness. Aaahh, true comfort food!
When you move abroad, you find that not all American food exists all over the globe. Sure, a semester abroad meant goodbye to Oreos, and peanut butter, unless you wanted to spend then $7.00 for a jar. But it was easy to give up these foods when I knew that my time away from them was finite. I could even give up my beloved Kraft Macaroni and Cheese for a few months, knowing full well that within my first week of returning home, I would devour a box of that wonderful chemically golden delight.
It is totally different living abroad though. It starts when the honeymoon period is over. After you have eaten your height in pretzels, mustard, pork neck and sausages, you start to say, "Hey where can I buy a great burger? or some great chicken wings, or insert your favorite food." Then you realize that you simply cannot get those items in your new home country. Sure, you find new foods you like, but every now and then, you find your mind and tastebuds wandering back to "home food."
It isn't only that the food tastes good, "home food" has much deeper meaning. "Home food" is a little piece of home, while being so far from home. The unfortunate effect of this is that you find yourself eating foods that you would not normally eat, or would only eat in small quantities.
Like, blue cheese dressing. While Joern and I were shopping in France, we found Heinz Blue Cheese dressing. No cause for alarm, except for the fact that it is impossible to find a good blue cheese dressing here. At home, I would only eat blue cheese dressing with buffalo wings, which before moving, was once a year. Now, to hold a bottle of blue cheese dressing in my hand feels like holding so much of my pre-Germany life in my hands. Tonight, we cracked open the bottle. It truly served its purpose, to momentarily ease the part of me that has permanent homesickness. Aaahh, true comfort food!
Mittwoch, 20. August 2008
Romantic weekend in Venice, Friday & Saturday
Joern really surpised me last week Wednesday by telling me that he booked a hotel in Venice for 2 nights. Since I am still on break, it worked very nicely. I went to work with Joern on Friday morning. Joern planned his route for the day so that his route brought us to the Swiss border, in the direction of Venice. We were able to start our trip around 2 pm. We drove through Switzerland, through the Alps, and through the St. Gotthard tunel. Our drive got a little worrysome as the lightning started really strong as we neared Venice, and there was a huge accident which really slowed traffic.Since our hotel was on Venice Lido, one of the Venetian islands, we had to take a ferry over to the island, and we were a bit concerned about time (we got to the ferry dock at 10 pm,) and the weather. But, we were lucky, and got on the ferry at 10:15, and made it to Lido by 11:00 pm.
Our hotel, Hotel Ville della Palme was really everything I could have expected from a hotel in Venice. As this was our first time staying directly in Venice,it was a pleasure to stay in a converted mansion. The rooms had high ceilings and huge windows, and the walls were covered in a beautiful jaquard fabric.
The hotel also had a wonderful rooftop terrace that affored amazing views of Venice and the Alps beyond on one side, and the Meditteranean on the other.
On Saturday after breakfast at the hotel, we headed out to the beach. The great thing about Lido is that it is the beach of Venice. Our hotel was about 7 minutes from the beach on foot.Plus, walking from the hotel to the beach took us on some quiet, lovely streets and through the center.
Although it is part of Venice, it hasn't been taken over by tourists the way Venice has, so we were able to appreciate the quiet Venetian charm. We really enjoyed relaxing at the beach and swimming in the marvelously warm Mediterranean.
In the afternoon, after getting showered and changed, we hopped on the Vaporetto and headed over to the main island of Venice. It is truly amazing to me that no matter how many times I see Venice, my heart skips a beat. I find it so incredibly romantic there.
We meandered through St. Mark's square, and made our way over to the Museo Correr,which served as a home to Napoleon.
From the museum, we met our tour guide for our tour of the clock tower. We really enjoyed the tour clock tower in St. Mark's square. Our tour guide was very informative, and with only one other person on the tour, it was very personal. We learned all about the clock and the tower, that was completed in 1499. Much of the clock remains today as it did in 1499, which is simply amazing. We wound our way up beautiful iron spiral staricases to see the mechanisms of the clock, and to find breath-taking views of the city. Most amazing of course was the top of the clock tower, where the two Moors (named so because of the dark copper used,) ring the bell over the city.
It was beautiful! After the tour, we wound our way down the main shopping passage to the Rialto Bridge, one of the oldest bridges in Venice.
We returned to Lido for an amazing dinner of Carpaccio di Bresola, pasta with arugula and tomatoes, and pizza with ham and mushrooms.
Our hotel, Hotel Ville della Palme was really everything I could have expected from a hotel in Venice. As this was our first time staying directly in Venice,it was a pleasure to stay in a converted mansion. The rooms had high ceilings and huge windows, and the walls were covered in a beautiful jaquard fabric.
The hotel also had a wonderful rooftop terrace that affored amazing views of Venice and the Alps beyond on one side, and the Meditteranean on the other.
On Saturday after breakfast at the hotel, we headed out to the beach. The great thing about Lido is that it is the beach of Venice. Our hotel was about 7 minutes from the beach on foot.Plus, walking from the hotel to the beach took us on some quiet, lovely streets and through the center.
Although it is part of Venice, it hasn't been taken over by tourists the way Venice has, so we were able to appreciate the quiet Venetian charm. We really enjoyed relaxing at the beach and swimming in the marvelously warm Mediterranean.
In the afternoon, after getting showered and changed, we hopped on the Vaporetto and headed over to the main island of Venice. It is truly amazing to me that no matter how many times I see Venice, my heart skips a beat. I find it so incredibly romantic there.
We meandered through St. Mark's square, and made our way over to the Museo Correr,which served as a home to Napoleon.
From the museum, we met our tour guide for our tour of the clock tower. We really enjoyed the tour clock tower in St. Mark's square. Our tour guide was very informative, and with only one other person on the tour, it was very personal. We learned all about the clock and the tower, that was completed in 1499. Much of the clock remains today as it did in 1499, which is simply amazing. We wound our way up beautiful iron spiral staricases to see the mechanisms of the clock, and to find breath-taking views of the city. Most amazing of course was the top of the clock tower, where the two Moors (named so because of the dark copper used,) ring the bell over the city.
It was beautiful! After the tour, we wound our way down the main shopping passage to the Rialto Bridge, one of the oldest bridges in Venice.
We returned to Lido for an amazing dinner of Carpaccio di Bresola, pasta with arugula and tomatoes, and pizza with ham and mushrooms.
Romantic Sunday in Venice
On Sunday, we left again for Venice at 10:00. We decided that we would make use of our 24 hour Vaporetto pass by trying to find a good seat on a water bus and ride around. Our first boat took us from St. Mark`s Square to the northwestern part of the island, where the Grand Canal begins.
We walked along the Grand Canal, went by the Rialto bridge again, and did some window-browsing. We found a shop with amazingly beautiful costumes for Carnivale, which piqued my interest in returning to Venice for Carnivale.
Then we decided to get on another boat that would bring us by some of the beautiful buildings along the canal such as the Grand Casino and the Ca d'Oro.
We then made our way back to Lido, to spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing at the beach.
We were sad to leave at 6 pm, but knew we had to go.
The ferry ride back to Tronchetto was wonderful. We even got to enjoy the lovely church bells at 7:30.
One of the highlights on the ride home was watching Friends in Italian on the TV in the car.
Even more amazing though, we got to see the beautiful sunset over the Alps which brought our trip home to a beautiful ending.
We walked along the Grand Canal, went by the Rialto bridge again, and did some window-browsing. We found a shop with amazingly beautiful costumes for Carnivale, which piqued my interest in returning to Venice for Carnivale.
Then we decided to get on another boat that would bring us by some of the beautiful buildings along the canal such as the Grand Casino and the Ca d'Oro.
We then made our way back to Lido, to spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing at the beach.
We were sad to leave at 6 pm, but knew we had to go.
The ferry ride back to Tronchetto was wonderful. We even got to enjoy the lovely church bells at 7:30.
One of the highlights on the ride home was watching Friends in Italian on the TV in the car.
Even more amazing though, we got to see the beautiful sunset over the Alps which brought our trip home to a beautiful ending.
Mittwoch, 13. August 2008
Vermont- Part IV
We spent the weekend after our Massachusetts trip at home. I figured that it made more sense to be home on the weekend, so that Joern could visit with more of the family.
So, after a fun weekend, including a cookout at my godfather's and a night at the races, Joern and I headed out for Vermont on Monday morning. The drive took us up through the middle of Connecticut and Massachusetts. It was quite a nice ride. We also drove up through quite a bit of Vermont, to Stowe, about one hour from the Canadian border. The coolest part, to me, was the rest stop in Vermont. It was so unlike any CT rest stop. It was quiet, clean, they had tons of information about the area, and FREE Green Mountain Roasters coffee!
The ride was about 4 hours.
When we got to Stowe, we decided to check-in to our bed and breakfast first. Wow! The B&B, the Timberholm Inn, was the quintessential Vermont B&B. Nestled in the mountains, the Timberholm was amazing.
Our bedroom, the blue room, was so cozy. The owners were extremely kind and accomodating, it was so enjoyable just to talk with them. Sadly, while we were checking- in, and checking-out the B&B, it started raining, so we left most of the exploratory activities to either in the car, or indoors.
Stowe, itself, is a winter-sports heaven. But, in its other life, it is a traditional, charming small New England town. The center is adorable. The skyline is dotted with simple church steeples, unlike the highly ornate church spires in Europe.
After looking at some maps and brochures, we decided to head out to Ben & Jerry's, which is actually in Waterbury, but located along route 100, just like Stowe. We were immediately drawn in by the cow print bus and gigantic factory with those distinctive white puffy skies on a blue background. Yeah, it was like heaven. We were so excited to take a tour, only to find a sign that stated ice cream is not made on Mondays on the desk of the ticket-seller. Of course, we could tour the factory, but where would the fun be in seeing a video instead of the real thing?
Dejected, we left Ben & Jerry's determined to return the following day to see the full show.
We drove back along the main road, and found a shopping center, with all Vermont products. We went to the Cabot Cheese sales annex, and enjoyed many samples :)
I also went into the Vermont Teddy Bear Company, and finally got to see them in person. After doing some shopping, we decided to head out to Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. Although I was disappointed to find out that we could not tour the factory, there was quite a bit of information available on the coffee and the region. Plus, they had many, many flavors of coffee available that were quite difficult to find in the stores. I bought two packages of my new favorite, Wild Maine Blueberry, and some Hazelnut. Yay!
While we were in getting coffee, the weather cleared. We decided to drive towards the mountain area. What we encountered first really made us laugh. As one drives out of the town center towards the mountains, you encounter many little shops and hotels, all with Austrian names. There is a heavy Austrian influence, beyond the Trapp family, that exists here. Unfortunately, the area resembles much less the Austrian Alps, and much more the Black Forest. Weird, huh?
We drove through glorious mountain forests, and stopped to enjoy the sun and a little babbling brook.
From there, we drove toward the Trapp Family Lodge, yes, the Sound of Music Trapp Family. It turns out that it is a lot more than a lodge. It is a huge hotel, with rental villas and now a growing community of private villas. Their property is huge and glorious! The funny thing was how very Austrian the hotel looked. I realized just how spoiled I am when I remarked to Joern, "why would I stay here, when I can stay in any hotel like this in Austria?"
Boy, where did I come from?
We finally made our way back to real life, and got dinner at a great restaurant, Gracie's.
We decided to head back to the B&B after dinner and enjoy the relaxing common room. There are couches and plenty of reading available, and of course, incredible sunsets. Also, they provide homemade cookies and tea at 4:00 in the afternoon. The owners keep the leftover cookies out, so we had to indulge. They also offer hot chocolate and tea until about 11:00 pm. In the common room, we also met another woman staying at the B&B, she was from Canada. We had a very long and interesting converstaion that wove through Canada, the housing markets in the US and Canada, and all the way to talking about our families.
It was a lovely, relaxing evening, just what I was expecting from Vermont.
Of course, the major surprise was what we came upon when we entered the dining room of the B&B on Tuesday morning. Breakfast! The owners of the B&B are hobby chefs, but incredible hobby chefs! Breakfast consisted of fresh pressed orange juice or fresh Vermont cider, a homemade sweet potato bread, and the most incredible ham quiche I have ever eaten made with fresh eggs from the owner's chickens. It was amazing! After we had stuffed ourselves silly, one of the owners came out and asked if he could get us anything else, Joern said, "sure, a little more quiche." The owner explained that he couldn't give us more quiche because he had made only enough for all the guests, but instead he made a ham and cheese scramble. Joern only regretted asking because he was stuffed beyond all means by the time we left the breakfast table!
These are some of the beautiful Vermont natives who showed up on the balcony while we ate breakfast.
As we waddled our way out of the B&B, we decided that due to the extreme cloud cover, going up Mount Mansfield would not be a good idea. So, we returned to Ben & Jerry's for our factory tour, which on Tuesday, included seeing the acutal production process.
The factory tour was really cool. After a brief video about Ben & Jerry, the co-founders, we went to the production area. Unfortunately, you are not allowed to take pictures, but what we saw was really cool. You can see the entire process, if you are there long enough. We got to see the cartons being filled. And towards the end of our stay, we got to see a huge vat of ice cream pushed over to the swirl filling area. They added a caramel swirl- yum! After seeing the production, we went downstairs to the sample area. Samples are free, you get to try one of their newer ice creams. Ours was One Cheesecake Brownie. Okay, not really my favorite, to me it was an odd combination. But, it was free, and it was Ben & Jerry's, I am not complaining. After the samples, the tour is complete. You can return to the gift shop, where we bought a few t-shirts and an ice cream scoop :) Of course, we then went to the ice cream shop, where Joern bought Cinnamon Buns ice cream, and I got Coconut Seven Layer Bar. Both flavors were EXTREMELY delicous!!!
Before we left, of course, we made our way to the Flavor Graveyard, and paid our respects to flavors like, Cool Britiania, Economic Crunch, and Wild Maine Blueberry.
Since our tummies were now extremely full, we decided that since the sun was shining, we would take the gondola ride up to the top of Mt. Mansfield, the highest mountain in Vermont. The gondola ride was a little expensive, $20 a person, but to do once was definately well worth it! The ride goes up to the summit of the mountain, which is 3625 feet above sea level. That is amazing to a girl from a seashore community. The view was unbelievable! It looked like a wonderful place to start a hike- yes, since I am not the most active of all people, hiking up would be a bear! I would be willing to hike down. We walked around for a while, just taking in the incredible scenery, and letting nature hit us full on.
We decided to go to the Cliff House Restaurant. The restaurant, which is also at the summit, has won many accolades, and was named an Editor's Choice Restaurant in Yankee Magazine. Since we weren't very hungry, but had to take advantage of one last Vermont food opportunity, we split a Vermont cheese platter. It was so delicious!
Afterwards, we headed back down, and enjoyed the views of the Green Mountains, Stowe Mountain Lodge, and the mountain.
Before leaving for CT, the clouds started coming in again, and since we weren't ready to leave cuddly little Waterbury, we stopped at the Cold Hollow Cider Mill. Vermont is well known for cider, and the Cold Hollow Cider Mill is the number 2 most visited attraction in Vermont after Ben & Jerrys. It turned out to be a gigantic store, with all Vermont made products, which was actually pretty cool. The cider press is in the back of the store, and they offer free samples of the sweet, cloudy drink. It turned out that we spent quite a long time there, and bought many Vermont treats, like a maple syrup sampler, maple walnut pancake mix, maple mustard, and honey which was also made at the cider mill. These small memories of Vermont are serving us well here in Germany, and every time we see them and use them in our kitchen, we begin discussing our wonderful trip this summer!
After the Cold Hollow Cider Mill, we decided it was time to go home. We desperately want to return to Vermont, as there was so much that we didn't get to see and do. Our two days simply whet our appetitie to return and experience all that the Green Mountains have to offer.
So, after a fun weekend, including a cookout at my godfather's and a night at the races, Joern and I headed out for Vermont on Monday morning. The drive took us up through the middle of Connecticut and Massachusetts. It was quite a nice ride. We also drove up through quite a bit of Vermont, to Stowe, about one hour from the Canadian border. The coolest part, to me, was the rest stop in Vermont. It was so unlike any CT rest stop. It was quiet, clean, they had tons of information about the area, and FREE Green Mountain Roasters coffee!
The ride was about 4 hours.
When we got to Stowe, we decided to check-in to our bed and breakfast first. Wow! The B&B, the Timberholm Inn, was the quintessential Vermont B&B. Nestled in the mountains, the Timberholm was amazing.
Our bedroom, the blue room, was so cozy. The owners were extremely kind and accomodating, it was so enjoyable just to talk with them. Sadly, while we were checking- in, and checking-out the B&B, it started raining, so we left most of the exploratory activities to either in the car, or indoors.
Stowe, itself, is a winter-sports heaven. But, in its other life, it is a traditional, charming small New England town. The center is adorable. The skyline is dotted with simple church steeples, unlike the highly ornate church spires in Europe.
After looking at some maps and brochures, we decided to head out to Ben & Jerry's, which is actually in Waterbury, but located along route 100, just like Stowe. We were immediately drawn in by the cow print bus and gigantic factory with those distinctive white puffy skies on a blue background. Yeah, it was like heaven. We were so excited to take a tour, only to find a sign that stated ice cream is not made on Mondays on the desk of the ticket-seller. Of course, we could tour the factory, but where would the fun be in seeing a video instead of the real thing?
Dejected, we left Ben & Jerry's determined to return the following day to see the full show.
We drove back along the main road, and found a shopping center, with all Vermont products. We went to the Cabot Cheese sales annex, and enjoyed many samples :)
I also went into the Vermont Teddy Bear Company, and finally got to see them in person. After doing some shopping, we decided to head out to Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. Although I was disappointed to find out that we could not tour the factory, there was quite a bit of information available on the coffee and the region. Plus, they had many, many flavors of coffee available that were quite difficult to find in the stores. I bought two packages of my new favorite, Wild Maine Blueberry, and some Hazelnut. Yay!
While we were in getting coffee, the weather cleared. We decided to drive towards the mountain area. What we encountered first really made us laugh. As one drives out of the town center towards the mountains, you encounter many little shops and hotels, all with Austrian names. There is a heavy Austrian influence, beyond the Trapp family, that exists here. Unfortunately, the area resembles much less the Austrian Alps, and much more the Black Forest. Weird, huh?
We drove through glorious mountain forests, and stopped to enjoy the sun and a little babbling brook.
From there, we drove toward the Trapp Family Lodge, yes, the Sound of Music Trapp Family. It turns out that it is a lot more than a lodge. It is a huge hotel, with rental villas and now a growing community of private villas. Their property is huge and glorious! The funny thing was how very Austrian the hotel looked. I realized just how spoiled I am when I remarked to Joern, "why would I stay here, when I can stay in any hotel like this in Austria?"
Boy, where did I come from?
We finally made our way back to real life, and got dinner at a great restaurant, Gracie's.
We decided to head back to the B&B after dinner and enjoy the relaxing common room. There are couches and plenty of reading available, and of course, incredible sunsets. Also, they provide homemade cookies and tea at 4:00 in the afternoon. The owners keep the leftover cookies out, so we had to indulge. They also offer hot chocolate and tea until about 11:00 pm. In the common room, we also met another woman staying at the B&B, she was from Canada. We had a very long and interesting converstaion that wove through Canada, the housing markets in the US and Canada, and all the way to talking about our families.
It was a lovely, relaxing evening, just what I was expecting from Vermont.
Of course, the major surprise was what we came upon when we entered the dining room of the B&B on Tuesday morning. Breakfast! The owners of the B&B are hobby chefs, but incredible hobby chefs! Breakfast consisted of fresh pressed orange juice or fresh Vermont cider, a homemade sweet potato bread, and the most incredible ham quiche I have ever eaten made with fresh eggs from the owner's chickens. It was amazing! After we had stuffed ourselves silly, one of the owners came out and asked if he could get us anything else, Joern said, "sure, a little more quiche." The owner explained that he couldn't give us more quiche because he had made only enough for all the guests, but instead he made a ham and cheese scramble. Joern only regretted asking because he was stuffed beyond all means by the time we left the breakfast table!
These are some of the beautiful Vermont natives who showed up on the balcony while we ate breakfast.
As we waddled our way out of the B&B, we decided that due to the extreme cloud cover, going up Mount Mansfield would not be a good idea. So, we returned to Ben & Jerry's for our factory tour, which on Tuesday, included seeing the acutal production process.
The factory tour was really cool. After a brief video about Ben & Jerry, the co-founders, we went to the production area. Unfortunately, you are not allowed to take pictures, but what we saw was really cool. You can see the entire process, if you are there long enough. We got to see the cartons being filled. And towards the end of our stay, we got to see a huge vat of ice cream pushed over to the swirl filling area. They added a caramel swirl- yum! After seeing the production, we went downstairs to the sample area. Samples are free, you get to try one of their newer ice creams. Ours was One Cheesecake Brownie. Okay, not really my favorite, to me it was an odd combination. But, it was free, and it was Ben & Jerry's, I am not complaining. After the samples, the tour is complete. You can return to the gift shop, where we bought a few t-shirts and an ice cream scoop :) Of course, we then went to the ice cream shop, where Joern bought Cinnamon Buns ice cream, and I got Coconut Seven Layer Bar. Both flavors were EXTREMELY delicous!!!
Before we left, of course, we made our way to the Flavor Graveyard, and paid our respects to flavors like, Cool Britiania, Economic Crunch, and Wild Maine Blueberry.
Since our tummies were now extremely full, we decided that since the sun was shining, we would take the gondola ride up to the top of Mt. Mansfield, the highest mountain in Vermont. The gondola ride was a little expensive, $20 a person, but to do once was definately well worth it! The ride goes up to the summit of the mountain, which is 3625 feet above sea level. That is amazing to a girl from a seashore community. The view was unbelievable! It looked like a wonderful place to start a hike- yes, since I am not the most active of all people, hiking up would be a bear! I would be willing to hike down. We walked around for a while, just taking in the incredible scenery, and letting nature hit us full on.
We decided to go to the Cliff House Restaurant. The restaurant, which is also at the summit, has won many accolades, and was named an Editor's Choice Restaurant in Yankee Magazine. Since we weren't very hungry, but had to take advantage of one last Vermont food opportunity, we split a Vermont cheese platter. It was so delicious!
Afterwards, we headed back down, and enjoyed the views of the Green Mountains, Stowe Mountain Lodge, and the mountain.
Before leaving for CT, the clouds started coming in again, and since we weren't ready to leave cuddly little Waterbury, we stopped at the Cold Hollow Cider Mill. Vermont is well known for cider, and the Cold Hollow Cider Mill is the number 2 most visited attraction in Vermont after Ben & Jerrys. It turned out to be a gigantic store, with all Vermont made products, which was actually pretty cool. The cider press is in the back of the store, and they offer free samples of the sweet, cloudy drink. It turned out that we spent quite a long time there, and bought many Vermont treats, like a maple syrup sampler, maple walnut pancake mix, maple mustard, and honey which was also made at the cider mill. These small memories of Vermont are serving us well here in Germany, and every time we see them and use them in our kitchen, we begin discussing our wonderful trip this summer!
After the Cold Hollow Cider Mill, we decided it was time to go home. We desperately want to return to Vermont, as there was so much that we didn't get to see and do. Our two days simply whet our appetitie to return and experience all that the Green Mountains have to offer.
Montag, 12. Mai 2008
Mother's Day with Mom
For the first time in 6 years, I was able to be home to celebrate Mother's Day with my mom.
Of course, I spent the morning out with my father, but also with his girlfriend, another mother to celebrate. We ate at Stockbridges, which although primarily a cheesecake business, also serves up a mean asparagus and cheddar cheese omlette.
After I got home, me, my mother and stepfather headed out to the Greenfield Hill section of my town, to visit the 73rd annual Dogwood Festival. 
Dogwood trees were first planted in Fairfield in the early 1700s. The dogwood has become a symbol of my town, you cannot grow up here without celebrating the beautiful tree, and it has become something I really miss during springtime in Germany.
This year's festival featured wonderful weather, and beautiful blossoms. The fest, unlike any German fest, had very little beer and involved a lot of shopping – typically American. But, it also focused on all things typically Fairfield, the Greenfield Hill Congregational Church, the Hill itself, and the people of the town. Of course, there were beautiful craft booths set up.
I particularly enjoyed the one from the lady who makes custom scrapbooks (www.enjoythejourneyscrapbooks.com) who provides beautiful fill – your-own scrapbooks. Yay! I even got part of Joern's anniverssary gift from her!
After we enjoyed looking at lovely hand-painted pottery and even more incredible original works of art, my mom and I decided to stroll around the grounds of the church, and enjoy the beautiful trees and weather.
We spent a lovely few hours rambling around the wonderful festival, and then my mom decided she wanted to take a drive to a wonderful lake here about an hour north of Fairfield. The lake, Lake Lilllinonah, is in Bridgewater, CT. We
used to drive up to the Lake about once a year when I was young, to enjoy a day in the boat on the Lake. My godfather's family had a very small piece of property in the lake (a tiny island,) that was only accessible by boat. The land was a great place for camping, and a day of relaxing and picnicking. The drive up to the lake amazed me, as I often forget that only a few miles north of Fairfield you find not the crazy hustle and bustle of the New York suburb, but you enter lovely, true New England country.
Lake Lillinonah itself was wonderful for me.
My mom and I regaled stories of summers past, and let my stepfather in on a part of true Kohler family history. It brought back so many wonderful memories, some I shared, some I kept private, and was a wonderful way to help relieve some of the stress I have been dealing with over the past few weeks.
Our Mother's Day ended with a trip to the Peppermill restaurant, a family favorite. They recently had to move after the owners of the building decided to against renewing the lease on the restaurant that had occupied the same building for over 30 years in order to put up retail space. I was quite open to visiting the restaurant, run by the same people, with the same menu, in a different space. Sadly though, with the change in cleientele, most probably increased business, they were out of my two favorite meals by our 6:30 seating. This meant, having to settle for a delicious, yet strangely disappointing steak. Truly, this was a case of you can't go home again.
Overall, it was a beautiful day. It was nice to spend the day with my mom, along with my stepfather, it took a lot of pressure off the difficulties of communicating solely with my mom. And, it made me more aware of some of the pleasantries of life in Fairfield, Connecticut.
Abonnieren
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