Lunch in Belgrade

The plan for the road trip after Budapest was a Balkan dream:
→ Belgrade, Serbia
→ Skopje, Macedonia
→ Tirana, Albania
→ Kotor, Montenegro
→ Dubrovnik, Croatia
→ Mostar, Bosnia
→ Split, Croatia

our original plan; thank you, google maps!

From Split, LC and I would fly back to Frankfurt, and JG would drive back to Budapest.  All of this would occur in just eight days. Sound ambitious? It was, and yet, we did it all, and still ended up adding a few scenic detours along the way.  It was more of an American-style, drive-by kind of trip than I normally like to do, but now I know which places I want to go back to and spend more time in.

Of all the places we were going, the one I was probably the most apprehensive about was, surprisingly, Serbia.  I had read enough about the Balkans to imagine that the Serbs wouldn't like Americans very much, and I had also read enough to feel the same about them.  My attitude toward the Serbs softened, though, after we crossed the border and I saw how a lot of them lived.  Serbia had seemingly been the most powerful of all of the republics in the former Yugoslavia, but it definitely didn't look the part. Serbia looked a lot more run-down than I expected.

I think if you want to see how people in any country really live, take a look at the countryside. If I had to choose which of the countries we went to was the poorest just by looking at the homes along the way, I would say Serbia. That is saying a lot, since we went through ALBANIA--whose reputation is of being the poorest country in Europe--and BOSNIA--where a lot of bombed-out buildings are still (sort-of) standing.

A lot of the homes looked weary, yet unfinished. There was also an astonishing amount of trash, especially around lakes or creeks.  

sign at the entrance of the city of Belgrade

We stopped in Serbia's capital city, Belgrade, for lunch and a quick look around. One of the great benefits of working at an international school is the connections you make with other teachers.  After a few years, many of your colleagues will leave to teach in other international schools, and you end up with friends all over the world.  JG had one such friend in Belgrade, and she gave us a tour of the sites downtown. The center of Belgrade had that charming, "old Europe" feel to it. If you like gazing at majestic-looking old buildings and churches like I do, you would love the downtown area.

center of the city; lots of shops and kiosks loaded with souvenirs

The old military headquarters has been left much as it was after NATO bombed it in 1999; it is supposedly a "culturally-protected monument"

the National Museum is getting a facelift

Near the downtown area is a grand fortress at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers.  Unfortunately, while we were there it started pouring buckets of rain, making it difficult to get good pictures.  By the time the downpour was over, we had moved on to the trendy area of Skadarlija,  with lots of restaurants and coffee shops.

These murals were painted on old buildings in the cute area of Skadarlija

In retrospect, I shouldn't have been so concerned about being an American in Serbia; everyone we came into contact with was very nice to us.  I would like to have had more time to talk to with people, but  we had to leave mid-afternoon...we were trying to make it to Skopje, Macedonia before dark!

    

     





        

Road Trip! First Stop: Budapest

I can't explain my fascination for the Balkan countries, but I have wanted to visit them for a long time.  It turns out, I wasn't alone: my friend LC wanted to go, too, and her friend JG wanted to drive! First, though, I would have to get to where JG lives: Budapest--another city on my (long) list of places to visit.

I flew to Budapest on Good Friday, arriving in the early afternoon.  We were starting our road trip south early Easter Sunday, which meant I had little more than 36 hours in Budapest. It was a whirlwind tour, but the city did not disappoint.  Everything about Budapest is grand...take a look at the McDonald's in the train station:

 

 

 ...a subway stop, restored to its former look:

 

 

 

...Monument Park, the graveyard of old, communist-era statues:

 

 

 Even the Easter Market seemed upscale, with REAL food and handcrafts to buy.

 

 

 

 

Budapest Castle

 

 

 

The weather was cold and the skies were gray, but the old buildings of the Austro-Hungarian Empire were spectacular--especially at night.

 view from the Budapest Castle; St. Matthias Church (Church of Our Lady) on the left

 view of the Parliament building from the Castle

I didn't have enough time in Budapest, but that would be a recurring theme during the next several days.  Next stop: Belgrade, Serbia!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Since it is St. Patrick's Day, I thought it would be a good time to mention a trip I took two weeks ago to Dublin.

In the garden next to St. Patrick's in Dublin

I was only there for less than 48 hours, but it was enough time to realize that the Irish are some of the friendliest people I have ever encountered.  To give you an example: we had a late flight on Friday night, and it was nearly midnight when we got on the bus to our hotel.  We didn't realize we had missed our stop until it was too late, and when we asked the bus driver which direction we should start walking to the hotel, he took a look at the back of the bus, and said, "You know what? I'll take you." Two stops later, the driver turned the empty double-decker bus around and dropped us off in front of our hotel. 

That's the kind of trip it was; even the weather cooperated. I've heard it rains a lot (everything was green!), but we were blessed with great weather.






My next home :) at St. Stephen's Green

Almost all blue skies at Trinity College 

inside the library at Trinity College

Christ Church Cathedral--maybe a little creepy-looking with the gray skies, but I liked it!

 

 



O'Neill? That's like O'Neal, right? Could be a cousin...

 

 



Dublin loves statues! Here's one of James Joyce

  Dublin is also an easy city to walk around in, and we did:  to Trinity College, the Book of Kells, Grafton Street, Temple Bar, Dublin Castle, Christ Church Cathedral, and St. Patrick's.  Of course, everything is in English, so I could read the signs. :)



Entrance to the Old Library at Trinity College



I recognize two people--I am not sure who the others are supposed to be.

 

It's Always Sunny in Pforzheim

Reading the news online this morning, I found this:

http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2013/02/07/fox_news_expert_on_solar_energy_germany_gets_a_lot_more_sun_than_we_do_video.html


I had a good laugh about this one. Solar power works in Germany, because Germany gets more sun than the U.S.! On a link to the article, one German identified as 3Nerd quipped, "As a German I must say I'm sorry for my fellow Americans. You must live in complete darkness." 

I started thinking, though, that I may be giving the wrong impression on my blog, since nearly all of my pictures are of sunny Germany. Germany is a beautiful country, and I like to post pictures that show it in a, eh, good light, but the truth is, the sky can be overcast and eerily gray an awful lot of the time.  So, here are a few of the many photos that didn't make the cut before:

above, Frankfurt in August; below, Frankfurt in April

 

 

The sun was trying to come out in September for the Rhine River tour, and it did--for a while. There was, however, no chance for sun in Hamburg in November.

 

 

 

 downtown Berchtesgaden just before the rain (October)

beautiful Passau through the mist (October)

I could go on (and on), but I think you get the idea.

So, I had this bad toothache...

Right before I left to spend Christmas in Texas, my tooth started hurting.  I decided I would wait until I returned to Germany to go to the dentist because (a) nobody wants to go to the dentist during vacation and (b) I have insurance in Germany. I tried to contact my dentist when I returned, but I was having trouble getting anyone on the phone, so I went to his office, and NO ONE WAS THERE. The practice was gone. There was even a fern blocking the stairs. Apparently, he and the other dentist had a falling out, and they both left the building. 

Now, it is not difficult to find a good dentist here, but finding a good dentist that I feel comfortable with and who speaks English takes time. I already had pain; therefore, no time.  A good friend told me she really liked her dentist; she knew he had spent some time studying in the U.S. and his office is a three-minute walk from my apartment!  I quickly made an appointment, and soon I was on my way to the dentist's office.

I had never been so happy to go to the dentist! I was confused, though, when a female dentist came in and introduced herself--in German. I was sure Karen had told me her dentist was  a "he". It's okay, I thought; soon enough, she will notice that I am struggling in German and will speak to me in English. Nope. Didn't happen. I still have a hard time believing that this dentist didn't speak any English when nearly everyone around here speaks to me in my native tongue after 30 seconds of hearing my German, but she never did, despite my obvious limitations.

I was completely unprepared.  Had I known I would be seeing the English-speaking dentist's colleague, I would have studied some dental vocabulary, or I might just have looked for a different dentist. I liked her, though. I thought she was good, and her name was appropriate--Dr. Zahn.  So, I was ready the next time. I looked online for a English-German dental vocabulary list, but none I found seemed to include everything I wanted. So, I made my own list, and when I was getting a Füllung, I concentrated on the words the dentist was saying in order to keep from focusing on what she was doing. I am hoping no one will need a list of dental vocabulary, but in case you do, here is mine:

A

das Amalgam - (metal) filling
ausspülen -- rinse

B

beissen  -- bite

E
empfindlich -- sensitive


F
die Füllung -- filling; they can be aus Metall (metal) or aus Keramik (ceramic)


K
die Karies -- cavity
kauen  -- chew
knirschen -- grit your teeth
die Krankenkasse -- insurance
die Krone -- crown



R
das Röntgen/Röntgenbild  -- X-ray

S
die Schiene -- night guard (for those who grind their teeth)
der Schmerz/die Schmerzen  -- pain
die Spritze -- shot/injection

T
taub -- numb
tief  -- deep

W
die Wurzelbehandlung  -- root canal


Z
der Zahn -- tooth
das Zahnfleisch  -- gums
das Zahnweh  -- toothache

Phrases:
den Kopf zu mir drehen  -- turn your head toward me
durch die Nase atmen  -- breathe through your nose (I'm not sure why, but that one really stuck in my head).

She also used a bunch of other verbs that are not specific to the dentist office, like öffnen (open), schliessen (close), sich kümmern um (to take care of), and betreuen (to look after).  As you can probably tell, I had some time to think about it while I was there!  Do you know of any others I should add to the list?

New New Year's Resolutions

Last year, one of my new year's resolutions was to visit at least 10 cities/towns on my "German list".  Well, I almost made it:

1. AACHEN

Charlemagne's throne is in this Cathedral. You have to go on a special tour to see it ...and I didn't.

 

 

 

2. BAMBERG

 

 I visited Bamberg three times (!!!) this year with visitors. I may need to go back and take better pictures, though. My photos don't do it justice.

Above: Bamberg in May, and below Bamberg in December

  

    

 

3. BERCHTESGADEN

 

 This one should go back on my list...the trip was too short. I want to go back!

 

 

4. FREIBURG 

Sunny stop for lunch on the way to France last summer

 

 

 

5. KÖLN

I need to do a blog post just about Köln!



 

 

 

6. NUREMBERG

 I cheated a little by having this one on the list, since I knew I would be going there on the school trip.

 

 

 

7.  PASSAU

Amazing view from the hostel in the Oberhaus fortress...I highly recommend it, if only for the view!

 

 

 

 

8. QUEDLINBURG...I did manage to blog about this one here.

 

 

 

I was close to my goal, but I didn't make it...so, that means I have to try harder this year!   I've decided a new goal is for me to have visited all of the 16 states in Germany, and I don't need that many (Bremen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saarland, Thüringen). I also found out about some cool places on top of the other cool places I didn't get to visit last year, so here is my revised list for 2013:

 

1. Bastei

2. Bremen*

3. Dessau

4. Eisenach* (Wartburg Castle)

5. Garmisch

6. Hildesheim

7. Lübbenau

8. Lüneburg

9. Mettlach/Saarschleife*

10. Rüdesheim (during the Christmas market)

11. Rügen or Stralsund*

12.Sylt or Amrum

13. Weimar*

*These cities represent states that I must visit!

 



 

I'm going to try to make it to at least ten of these places this year.  Another of my new year's resolutions is to average three blog entries per month...so far, so good!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

Paris in the Fall

Yes, it says Paris in THE FALL.  I am VERY behind on my blog!

I went to Paris in September, and I have to say that it did NOT meet my expectations.  I mean, no one was rude to me; everyone spoke English, and looked happy about it. (It's not that I expect everyone to speak English to me wherever I go, it's just that, well, being an American, I have heard a few things about Parisians.) The people were friendly, the weather was perfect...

Arc de Triomphe after shopping on the Champs-Elysées

This is why I shouldn't wait months after I have taken pictures to blog...I think this may be behind Notre Dame Cathedral, but I can't be sure. (So embarrassing!)



 This place I am sure of! It's the Sacre Couer Basilica. It's beautiful, and there is a great place to buy crepes across the street if you are hungry. Be sure to hold on to your purse, though!

 

 

 



The Paris Opera House...can you see me on the balcony???

The Eiffel Tower at night is really something to see! I think if I were to do it over again, I would skip the trip to the top of the Eiffel Tower. It took so long, and there were so many people.  I preferred being in the park area below, just gazing up at the tower.

I think there are two kinds of trips: the kind where you take the time to stop and smell the roses, and the other where you take pictures of the roses while you run to the next garden.  This trip was the latter.  We arrived late Friday night and left Sunday afternoon. So, we did the American thing and ate on the go, and that included eating at Chipotle. (Hey, don't judge--there are no Chipotles in Germany!)  We did make some time for a few drinks before we left, as well as a few desserts.  The awesome French cuisine I have heard so much will have to wait until the next trip.  Yes, I said the next trip.  I'd go again!

 

 

 

   

Winter Wonderland

Yesterday school was cancelled for the first time since I have been here. It was a good thing, too, because ice covered everything.  Fortunately, a few inches of snow have fallen since then, and it was safe to walk around and take pictures today.  I felt like a tourist again in my own town. I already have pictures of most of these things already, but what doesn't look prettier with a few inches of fresh snow?