This month was filled with ups and downs. I began it, however, with a delightful road trip to Prague with my roommate Laura, her boyfriend Bailey, his roommate Jeff, and our friends Kailyn, Conal, and Terri. We rented a huge Volkswagon van and headed off to the Czech Republic. We were driving at night, so we weren't really sure what the country looked like until we left our hostel the next morning. However, before we went to bed, Laura, Bailey, and I decided that we would try to find the famed Cross Club. After a few wrong turns (in very sketchy part of town, I might add) and pit stop for me in a dark alley (yeah...), we finally stumbled upon one of the most fascinating scenes. The entrance was a light show behind what looked to be an Erector set on crack. As we coursed our way through the "cozy" (and I use that term loosely) bar, random surprises were around every corner. This place definitely plays to the disgruntled punk youth of Prague, but pulls others in just the same. Random metal bits were cemented into the wall, and each room had its own lighting scheme. The entire bar walked a fine line between a masterpiece and a junk heap. Even though we didn't stay for too long, it was an experience that I will neither forget nor regret.
When we finally made it in to town the next morning, I was awestruck by the beauty of the city. I can honestly say that Prague is one of the most gorgeous cities that I have ever seen. From the peacocks in the random park that we found, to the Charles Bridge, to views from the castle, to the astronomical clock, to the Museum district, to the Jewish quarters, just about every place we went left me breathless. Since winter was just around the bend, there were stands that were serving Grog and Gluhwein. Since Grog (hot water, rum, and sugar) is a Czech specialty, I decided to try that. If you like your drinks to taste like hot rubbing alcohol with a dash of sweetness, this one's for you. I can go ahead and write that one off of the list.
That night, we randomly stumbled upon the best Italian food place any of us had ever eaten at, hands down. We then made our way to a little underground jazz bar where we met another group of Americans that were studying in the city. Here, we also took shots of Absinthe (another Czech specialty)--not too shabby. From there, we made our way over to a five-story club on the river to dance the night away.
Our last day was filled with sight-seeing and eating authentic Czech food. We headed back to Garmisch full, happy, and exhausted.
Shortly after I returned home from Prague, I got the news that my grandmother was going downhill rather quickly, and it was time for me to start deciding what I was going to do. Well, I ended up having to make a game-time decision and I flew home on the 13th of November. As most of you know, Nana passed away on November 19th with her family around her. I was able to spend a nice 3 weeks at home with family and friends, which really helped ease me back to reality. Even though this quite possibly the hardest thing I've had to go through, it was made better by all of you who were there for me. THANK YOU.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
October
October was a bit of a whirlwind. Trying to get on European time while getting used to the Garmisch night life made for a bit of a blurry month. However, I did get to see some beautiful parts of Germany. Regensburg, a medievel town in Bavaria, not only gave Hannah and me a healthy dose of history, but also a full day of retail therapy. Garmisch is seriously lacking in this area, so anytime a girl is within a 500m radius of an H&M or Zara, she must take advantage. Herrenchiemsee was also beautiful.
Although I love a good day of history and sightseeing as much as the next gal, Oktoberfest was the real treat of this month. Singing and dancing with crazy drunk Bavarians, listening to the band play "Country Roads" over and over (Germans love that song), riding roller coasters all day, eating traditional Bavarian food, and drinking some of the best beer in the world--now that's what I call a healthy dose of culture:)
In addition to Oktoberfest, Halloween proved to be a pretty good time here, even though it's not observed by Germans. At the time, there was an American-owned bar that served free beer to anyone in a Halloween costume that evening. As you can imagine, the masses gladly participated. As for yours truly, I was dressed as the lovely New York and was accompanied by my friend Travis who was hilariously dressed as Flava Flav. All in all, the perfect way to end October.
Although I love a good day of history and sightseeing as much as the next gal, Oktoberfest was the real treat of this month. Singing and dancing with crazy drunk Bavarians, listening to the band play "Country Roads" over and over (Germans love that song), riding roller coasters all day, eating traditional Bavarian food, and drinking some of the best beer in the world--now that's what I call a healthy dose of culture:)
In addition to Oktoberfest, Halloween proved to be a pretty good time here, even though it's not observed by Germans. At the time, there was an American-owned bar that served free beer to anyone in a Halloween costume that evening. As you can imagine, the masses gladly participated. As for yours truly, I was dressed as the lovely New York and was accompanied by my friend Travis who was hilariously dressed as Flava Flav. All in all, the perfect way to end October.
The First E-Mail
So, I'm finally going to make an attempt to upkeep the blog. To streamline things, I'll start from the beginning with the first e-mail that I sent home. I'll then try to go backwards to catch everyone up on the past 6 months here in Germany!
First of all, the biggest blessing since I have been here has been the four other people that I came in with, one of which is my roommate, Laura. When I got off of the plane, there were three other girls and one guy that had been waiting with the resort representative until my flight came in (I had a few travel complications due to the weather). All of us clicked almost immediately and have been inseperable since we first got in. Laura is my age and from Kansas. She's just as (if not more) outgoing as I am, and I think that we are going to have a blast together.
The accomodations for the staff are really nice. The bathrooms are all very modern and stay amazingly clean. Since there are quite a few people leaving, Laura and I were able to buy a lot of second-hand stuff to furnish our room.
The biggest surprise came on Tuesday when we all found out what our jobs were going to be. As most of you probably already know, I'M NOT A HOUSEKEEPER! I will be working in Alpine Adventures, which is the gift shop/activity central. All of the tours, leisure activities, hikes, kids' programs, etc. are run out of our department. Right now they are mainly just exposing me to all of the different facets of the job, so I can get a taste for what I like and don't like. Basically, I will be getting paid to do what I would probably do anyway. Can life get anymore perfect?
For my first day of work, I went on the big tour to the Neuschwanstein castle, which is what Disney modeled their signature castle after. Even though the castle itself was beautiful, standing on the Marienbrücke (a steep bridge that goes over the Pollät Gorge) and looking out over the countryside with the castle in the foreground brought tears to my eyes. I felt like I was looking at a life-size post card. On this same tour, we went through various towns in Southern Bavaria, stopping at a little wood-working shop and the Wies pilgrimmage church. On the way back, we swung down through Austria, but due to jet lag and a huge bowl of Käsespätzle (basically really thick macaroni and cheese), I was snoozing during that part.
The most frustrating thing has definitely been the language barrier, but I know that will come with time. Every Friday morning, there is a market with fresh fruits and vegetables, flowers, and various baked goods. We went this past Friday and enjoyed coffee on the terrace of a small cafe with the Alps as our scenery. That was enough to make any frustrations that I had disappear.
We are planning on going to Oktoberfest in Munich this weekend, so I will make sure to write and send pictures after that.
Thank you all so much for all of your e-mails, thoughts, and kind words. It has meant so much and been so nice to know that I have all of you thinking about me! I miss you all terribly! For anyone that is interested in coming to visit, I am able to sponsor guests at the resort. Unfortunately, you have to pay full price, and you are only offered the standard rooms, but it would be well worth it. There are also little apartments in the actual village that you can rent out for about 65 Euro/ night.
Lots of love from Deutschland
First of all, the biggest blessing since I have been here has been the four other people that I came in with, one of which is my roommate, Laura. When I got off of the plane, there were three other girls and one guy that had been waiting with the resort representative until my flight came in (I had a few travel complications due to the weather). All of us clicked almost immediately and have been inseperable since we first got in. Laura is my age and from Kansas. She's just as (if not more) outgoing as I am, and I think that we are going to have a blast together.
The accomodations for the staff are really nice. The bathrooms are all very modern and stay amazingly clean. Since there are quite a few people leaving, Laura and I were able to buy a lot of second-hand stuff to furnish our room.
The biggest surprise came on Tuesday when we all found out what our jobs were going to be. As most of you probably already know, I'M NOT A HOUSEKEEPER! I will be working in Alpine Adventures, which is the gift shop/activity central. All of the tours, leisure activities, hikes, kids' programs, etc. are run out of our department. Right now they are mainly just exposing me to all of the different facets of the job, so I can get a taste for what I like and don't like. Basically, I will be getting paid to do what I would probably do anyway. Can life get anymore perfect?
For my first day of work, I went on the big tour to the Neuschwanstein castle, which is what Disney modeled their signature castle after. Even though the castle itself was beautiful, standing on the Marienbrücke (a steep bridge that goes over the Pollät Gorge) and looking out over the countryside with the castle in the foreground brought tears to my eyes. I felt like I was looking at a life-size post card. On this same tour, we went through various towns in Southern Bavaria, stopping at a little wood-working shop and the Wies pilgrimmage church. On the way back, we swung down through Austria, but due to jet lag and a huge bowl of Käsespätzle (basically really thick macaroni and cheese), I was snoozing during that part.
The most frustrating thing has definitely been the language barrier, but I know that will come with time. Every Friday morning, there is a market with fresh fruits and vegetables, flowers, and various baked goods. We went this past Friday and enjoyed coffee on the terrace of a small cafe with the Alps as our scenery. That was enough to make any frustrations that I had disappear.
We are planning on going to Oktoberfest in Munich this weekend, so I will make sure to write and send pictures after that.
Thank you all so much for all of your e-mails, thoughts, and kind words. It has meant so much and been so nice to know that I have all of you thinking about me! I miss you all terribly! For anyone that is interested in coming to visit, I am able to sponsor guests at the resort. Unfortunately, you have to pay full price, and you are only offered the standard rooms, but it would be well worth it. There are also little apartments in the actual village that you can rent out for about 65 Euro/ night.
Lots of love from Deutschland
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Bluebonnets to Edelweiss
I'm finally doing it. I'm making a long-awaited dream come true, and I've never felt better! I was actually looking over a list of goals that I had written outin college, and this one topped the list. I remember writing it down and thinking to myself--is this really ever going to happen? I wish that I could credit some kind of inspirational, motivational lecture, book, or article, but I can't. All I can credit is serendipity, which just so happened to flash across the monitor this morning when I opened the Word of the Day:
ser-uhn-DIP-uh-tee: The faculty or phenomenon of making fortunate accidental discoveries.
I'll count Lu and I randomly coming across a website for an overseas Armed Forces Recreation Center as the front-runner in a long list of fortuitous events. Even though I'll be making the trip across the pond without my dear Lu, I know that this is exactly what I am so supposed to do, and I haven't looked back since.
I have 6 weeks until I make the lucrative professional shift from Marketing Coordinator to Resort Hotel Attendant, a.k.a "Housekeeper." Even though I'm taking a serious pay cut, I feel justified because I am getting a definite upgrade in scenery.
Ok, so maybe becoming a maid at a ski resort in a foreign land wasn't exactly one of my top ten goals in life, but moving to Europe after college was, and fulfilling that dream is making my life that much merrier.
ser-uhn-DIP-uh-tee: The faculty or phenomenon of making fortunate accidental discoveries.
I'll count Lu and I randomly coming across a website for an overseas Armed Forces Recreation Center as the front-runner in a long list of fortuitous events. Even though I'll be making the trip across the pond without my dear Lu, I know that this is exactly what I am so supposed to do, and I haven't looked back since.
I have 6 weeks until I make the lucrative professional shift from Marketing Coordinator to Resort Hotel Attendant, a.k.a "Housekeeper." Even though I'm taking a serious pay cut, I feel justified because I am getting a definite upgrade in scenery.
Ok, so maybe becoming a maid at a ski resort in a foreign land wasn't exactly one of my top ten goals in life, but moving to Europe after college was, and fulfilling that dream is making my life that much merrier.
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