Left behind in Germany, based on a true story (By Linda)

Left behind in Germany…..

T’was days before Christmas, when all through Pecy’s home,
No parents were there, except these two gnomes:

The stockings were hung by the prickly tree with care,

In hopes that St. Pecolas soon would be there; Grandpa and Linda slept snug in their beds,

With visions of French wines dancing in their heads;

And Dodger in her jammies and Baci in her cap,

Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,

When out in the Dinning room there arose such a clatter,

Grandpa sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the table he dashed (he was rolling!)

And there stood sweet Pecos, eating bourbon-soaked Stollen

So with tail b’twixt legs, he slouched off to bed,
And woke the next morning with hangover head.

When, what to his groggy red eyes should he see,

But his suitcase packed for a trip….oh what Glee!

So up to a Castle, along the Rhine they flew,

With the Volvo full of wine, and bits of cheese and treats too.

With Grandpa and Linda away for dinner,
Pecy looked at Dodger and thought, “What a Winner!”

So he whistled and barked and called Dodger by name,
He knew that cute Yorkie would take much to tame.

“Now Dodger, Now Sweetie, how about some nice cheese?”
“My Darling, My Angel, a little sausage for you…. please?”
He set out some fruit and Stollen to be merry,
And with a twinkle in his eyes, he poured her some sherry,

Their eyes -- how they twinkled! Their tails how merry!

Their bellies were quite rosey, each nose like a cherry!

With a wink of his eye and a twist of his head,

Dodger soon understood she had nothing to dread;

Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"

The rest of the story might seem a bit tall.

According to Pecy-boy, St. Pecolas appeared.
And brought him a girlfriend, who likes his grey beard.

So parents or none, he had a good time,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."

Frosty weather on Pecos's head

It's been cold and wet here recently, leaving a beautful layer of powdery, dandruffy snow on Pecos's head ... ... and a delightful coating of feathery frost on the branches.

We're off to Brugge and Brussels (Belgium) for a few days to enjoy the New Year's celebrations there - which, Kate just found out, are apparently the most boring in Europe - and will share pics and stories when we return.

Until then, enjoy these beautiful pictures Kate took while running with Pecos yesterday morning. (The top picture is my new favorite Pecos picture and is now our screen saver).

Trans-Atlantic Christmas

Justin and I have returned from our venture to the States and have reunited with Pecos once again. We landed yesterday (Christmas) and have had one semi-successful night of sleep. It is now eight in the morning, and I am waiting for the light of day to arrive so I can take Pecos out for some exercise . . . perhaps it will be light by nine. Ugh!

Justin and I had an extended and wonderful, Christmas and we were very fortunate to spend time with many family members.

Christmas I:
Justin and I spent last week with Bill and Barbara down in Southern Maryland. Our time with them culminated in a pre-Christmas dinner involving of 20 of their nearest and dearest. Santa (played as Justin) visited the dinner and taught everyone about Santa's true origin in Turkey.

Christmas II:

We spent last weekend with my parents on an accelerated-Christmas schedule. This means Christmas Eve was celebrated on the 23rd and Christmas day on the 24th.

Justin helped me maintain the family tradition of decorating the tree and staying up way too late on Christmas eve. On Christmas morning, we exchanged presents and enjoyed Christmas breakfast before Barbara and Bill arrived bringing more holiday cheer with them. One abbreviated Pictionary game (Edward and Barbara were the most-skilled team) and a tasty dinner later, Justin and I had to stuff our goods into twice the amount of suitcases we arrived with and bid farewell to our loved ones.

Christmas III (though I don't think this counts as Christmas):

We boarded our plane around nine on Christmas Eve. The plane passed Santa on his way back from Europe and on our way to Germany. Justin and I exchanged gifts on the plane, but I think we were both happiest with the gift of sleep as we spent most of the flight with our eyes closed.

We arrived in Germany and were greeted by Pecos and Jay, bearing gifts of licks and hugs, and a beautiful winter-landscape outside.

Christmas IV:

Jay dropped Pec, Justin, and I off at home so we could unpack and complete a few Christmas traditions of our own (can you tell I love this holiday). We exchanged ornaments and stockings, and Pecos received a backpack so he can start carrying his weight in 2008. Before collapsing in exhaustion, we managed to get ourselves out the door and onto . . .

Christmas V:

Jay and Linda hosted an excellent Christmas dinner last night complete with lots of beef, lots of fun, a few instances of me almost falling asleep mid-conversation, and a super cute vet-toy for Pecos. It was a wonderful evening.

After a few hours of revelry, Justin and I returned home ready to collapse into bed.

In all, our time in the States was wonderful. It was great to see so many friends and to spend so much time with our families. Thank you all for being so flexible and understanding of our jam-packed schedule. Also, all of you who talked about when you're coming to visit . . . we remember those conversations and will continue to bug you until you show up.

I hope you all had wonderful Christmases.

Kate’s (and Justin’s) Great Dates in the States: Celebrate good times, come on

For those readers who thought our travel schedule has been too diverse recently, with trips to Hungary, Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and other cold, dark, obscure, and hard-to-pronounce places, you’re in luck. Kate and I are back in the States and ready to provide simple, unadorned commentary on the plain and unpretentious celebrations we take part in when we come home to America.

Playing Hooky: Although Kate said she had lots of work to do upon her arrival in the States, Chicago gal pal and previous neighbor, Carol, along with long-time BFF, Elizabeth, visited on the first weekend for some shopping, concert-going at the University of Maryland, and Chipotle-eating. Kate had a terrific (Terp-ific?) time and wishes we had neighbors and friends like them in Germany. BIRF-daze: Although a bit travel worn, I arrived a week later and was very excited to join Kate’s brother Edward for his (muffled utterance) birthday at an eatery crafted by one of his favorite restaurateurs. We like Edward and always enjoy the amusing stories he tells. Six diet cokes in a row allowed me to be almost conversational.
I heart T-shirts: The day after my arrival we rented a truck and drove up to New Jersey to visit my step-sister, Breanna. Well, really, we parked in her complex’s lot, bummed a ride to the Penn Station bound train, and met her the next evening for Mexican food and an occasionally hilarious comedy show. The purpose of the trip was to visit our wonderful friends Mike and Amanda (first picture), who have lived in Queens for three years now but who we haven't managed to visit during all our travels. Time flies when you’re living it up as the king of the hill, top of the heap, I guess. And we now have very American commemorative T-shirts to prove our Gotham getaway.
Being a kid again: On the way back from NYC, we stopped by a house in Applebachsville, Penn., that for 16 years I called home. The current residents, who have lived there for a little over a year, were interested in hearing the history of the house. I, on the other hand, could only offer my childhood memories, like where I once peed on the carpet and where I used to lay awake at night fearing that aliens would land in the field next door.
A lot had changed in the 12 years since we sold the house; so, to me, it was like recalling a memory I never had. Weird. And everything seemed smaller too.

Dog days of winter: It’s very easy to “celebrate good times” with dogs. They require nothing more than a tennis ball and an open field. Kate and I had a great time with these bowwows.

Exotic cuisine Americanized: Yum. The next couple days Kate and I shopped like teenage girls, relishing the novel exchange rate ($1 = $1). But there were two food purchases I savored the most: a sweet, juicy tea concoction complemented by these delicious chewy tapioca pearls, and chipotle burritos. Traditional American cuisine (hot dogs, Twinkies) is infamous for its nitrates and preservatives. But the American cuisine I miss living in Germany is the ease of sampling exotic cuisines Americanized. Although unlimited wurst and beer options are great, the variety of food available to those living in the States is unmatched anywhere in the world. God Bless America.
Old and aging friends: Christmas shopping was followed by an assembly of our old and aging D.C-area friends, all of whom are successful, happy, and better than me at air hockey (even Prabhu, seen here defying the laws of hockey by “scooping” the puck).
Laissez les bons temps rouler: Kate and I have been in Southern Maryland the last couple days, shopping, eating Mexican food, and spending quality time with Barbara, Bill, and acquisitions from the library. Today we head to Annapolis to see another old and aging friend, Keyvan, and tomorrow is a pre-Christmas Christmas party. More pics to come.

Comings, Goings, and Bosnians

As I still haven't packed and my flight is less than 11 hours away, I'll be short. Or wait...maybe this guy will be short.

He's actually a general in the U.S. Army (my boss's boss's .... boss) and you may be able to tell how awkward I am around him by my lack of awareness about what to do with my hands (do I rest one on his lower back? Do I put the other one in my pocket?).

This was taken at my work's holiday ball - a place where people got gussied up and watched me dance like this. (This picture was actually posted on our work shared drive for all to see).

It was held at our local castle, the Biebrich Schloss, and only could have been better if my date was my wife. Or perhaps that woman who works on the 6th floor....

Work also brought me to Sarajevo this week. Although it was only for two days, I was able to make it out to the old bazaar part of the city during daylight where a colleague, Doug, took this shot in front of this kiosk (which is sort of a symbol of the city). Apparently I have no shoulders.

Aside from the very noticable bullet holes still in almost every wall, the occasional bombed out shell of a building, or a large hole left from an exploded mortar round, the city was great. It actually had a very Turkish feel. Here's me drinking "Bosnian" coffee (which is exactly like Turkish coffee except in the way it's served).

And here's Doug eating some baklava.

And now off to bed before a big day of flying the friendly skies.

The holidays are here again

Since returning from our Balkan adventure, Justin and I have both been consumed with work (for Justin that means dressing up as Spiderman). We have also been busy planning what I think might be our craziest holiday season ever.

We started the holiday season off with two Thanksgiving celebrations. There was the one in Budapest with Jay and Linda, and the one at Jay and Linda's with, well, Jay and Linda of course.

For our Thanksgiving in Wiesbaden, Justin made a pumpkin pie, which turned out wonderfully. Here he's working on the crust.

He also made Pecos a mini pie of crust, pumpkin, and yogurt. Pecos has since added pumpkin to his list of favorite foods.

The Thanksgiving dinner was great, filling, and lots of fun. We really are very fortunate to have family so close to us.

Since then, Justin and I have enjoyed the Christmas market in Wiesbaden, hosted a murder-mystery dinner party, and decorated for Christmas.

Tomorrow I fly to Maryland where I'll be until the 24th. Justin joins me next Thursday, so we can celebrate Christmas together three times (seriously three times!). I am very excited!

Discovering the new Old Europe (Dental Tourism … again)

I took the whole week of Thanksgiving off ostensibly to travel with Kate to Budapest so she could get a permanent crown. Her appointments were Monday at 11 a.m. and Thursday at 2 p.m. In between those appointments, we rented a car and drove into the Balkans where we explored what I like to call the four “Hotspots of Tomorrow” (said in the booming and hopelessly optimistic voice of a 1950s television announcer). These destinations (two cities, two nature sights) are well known to locals, you see, but unknown to today’s tourists who will soon be looking east to get more bang for their ever weakening buck.

Day 1: From Budapest we drove southwest to the former Yugoslavian country of Slovenia, a peaceful and prosperous country with healthy influences from Austria (Lippanizzer stallions), Italy (pasta), and the Balkans (stallion meat served on pasta).

Actually, cuisine aside, the country really is top notch. They have snowcapped mountains, tons and tons of green space, and probably one of the liveliest and entrepreneurial cities in Europe: Ljubljana.

This city was our first stop and we were excited to see it. Alas, we spent our first night in prison. (In reality, it was a hostel that used to be a prison. And it wasn’t as scary as you’d think. There were no handcuffs or tasers, just bars and me calling Kate my “bitch.”)
But before we went to sleep in the Big House, our warrant officer let us go out for one final stroll (“parole”) around the energetic city. Here we took in the sights, which included a castle on a hill in the center of the city, a “dragon” bridge, and a lovely town square.
We ended up at a restaurant that served, among other things, horse. I’m not sure if it was from a Lippanizzer stallion, but it pranced into my belly very gracefully.
My actual thoughts: It tasted like horses smell (manure-y). It wasn’t as stringy as I heard it would be. I’m certainly never going to say “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse” again.

Day 2: This was probably our most interesting day, but it started and ended with a little frustration. After a restful night in jail, we spent several hours visiting the many internet points in the city, as Kate had work to do. Every place we went had a problem (no Windows, no printer, no Java). Finally, someone recommended the city library and Kate rejoiced with success. I rejoiced by taking pictures of Kate.

Around noon we went 25 miles north to Bled, a romantic town with a hearty mix of tourist attractions, including a castle overlooking a crystal clear lake, a small wooded island in the middle of the lake, a cute church on the island, and a location right on the foothills of the snowy Julian Alps. Poyfekt for tourists!
And we, as tourists, loved it – despite the overcast skies and chilly weather. Kate and I climbed up to the castle, went inside a small museum dedicated to Slovenian history, saw some great views of the island church, and played a little Where’s Waldo. (Can you find Waldo?)
Our next stop was the Vintgar Gorge, a clear ravine carved by the runoff from an Ice Age glacier. It had just closed earlier in the month, we found out. Disappointed, Kate had given up and was ready to turn around. I was more rebellious.

Afterward we drove south, got stuck behind slow moving vehicles on small country roads, redubbed the country “SLOW-venia,” drove up snowy mountainsides blanketed in icy mist, redubbed the country “SNOW-venia,” and entered Croatia where the roads were mostly clear but the snow was even higher.

The closer we got to our destination for the night – Plitvička Jezera, a national park with 16 turquoise lakes connected by waterfalls – the snowier and icier the roads got. The one-lane roads near the park were like something out of “the Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe,” with evergreen boughs laden with snow that framed the road like a Widow’s Peak of winter. It was dark outside, but I could tell it was absolutely beautiful.

Although we made a couple more wrong turns, we finally found our hotel (House Tina) around 8 p.m., were informed that we were one day early (I was obstinate at first, then embarrassed), but were eventually let in. It was just a typical family home in Croatia, but it looked like cloud nine to us road-weary travelers.

Kate then convinced me to go out to eat, which involved leaving our first choice restaurant because they had no gas for cooking and finding another (and better) restaurant – with gas. I had lasagna. Kate had beans (and made up for the lack of gas in the other restaurant.

Day 3: Waterfalls! About 14 inches of snow had fallen two nights before, which did several things: 1) It made the waterfalls even more beautiful; 2) It made it easy to make snowball “boats” that Kate and I would name and toss into cascading falls and watch them drift underneath our footbridges; 3) It made for cold enough weather that big scary icicles would intermittently come crashing down (see picture below); 4) It made the narrow wooden catwalks that hovered only inches above the blue-green water treacherous (heck, even sure-footed mountain goats would bite their toe nails).

Here, Kate shares her initial "deep" thoughts upon seeing the 78 meter waterfall.

Most treacherous, however, was climbing down the manmade staircases.

We took way too many pictures of this UNESCO World Heritage Site. Waaay too many. Here are just a couple. Later that day we drove to Croatia’s capital, Zagreb (pronounced ZAH-greb, not zah-GREB), where we noticed the disproportionality (is that a word?) of this city’s eminence. You see, it’s a small city (800,000) in a small country and it was only important starting in the 1990s, when it became the capital. But it has 30 museums, several theaters, opera houses, and civic centers, and countless other large and ornately decorated cultural, scientific, economic, religious, and governmental buildings. So we did the touristy thing as much as our patience allowed (i.e., walked around with maps and travel guides that talked about all the large buildings, took pictures of the large buildings, got a little bored looking at the large buildings, ate a slice of pizza to go, got lost ambling through the cobbly streets where there were no large buildings, and found a place to sit down for dinner.) Roasted red peppers never tasted so good.

Day 4: Our last stop in this multilingual, multiethnic corner of Europe, was Budapest, where it all began and where Kate finally got her crown (the whole purpose of our visit). It was Thanksgiving day and we were meeting Jay and Linda after the dentist’s for an all-you-can-eat-AND-drink dinner at Trofea Grill, where Kate and I went in June. Again, the place was wonderful. Unlike a kid in a candy store, however, who stands mouth agape marveling at what he should pick first, I didn’t bother to look around. I opened the fist lid I saw and put its contents on my plate. I knew I would eat everything, you see…meats, peppers, soups, salads, desserts, wine, espressos, macchiatos. And I did. That night we slept in a dingy loft without doors in a single guy’s pad. It was on hostelworld.com, but it was definitely just some guy’s dirty apartment. Weird. And since the power went out sometime in the middle of the night, causing us to have no hot water or light at 6:15 a.m. (think peeing in the dark), I would certainly not recommend it.

But there you have it: two bustling cities, two spectacular nature sights, no tourists, and cheap dental work. No more will these places be known for their checkered past. They will be known as the “Hotspots of Tomorrow.”