Posted on July 28th, 2006 in Europe, Family | 6 Comments
Today was the first day with really clear heads, the jet lag is almost gone and our bodies are tired at night and alert in the day. So we rented a car.
What a difference wheels make! I missed driving. After getting our ID cards and eating lunch, we headed over to check out Grunstadt. The Grunstadt area is known for it’s local wines/vineyards. They don’t export the stuff, you have to come here to drink it. It’s fairly close to the French border (we are already, Grunstadt is a 25 minute drive). The vineyards there are GORGEOUS! If you’ve ever been through Washington state or northern California, times that by ten and you’ll start to get an idea of what the Grunstadt area looks like. To put this in perspective, the exit we took was called “Deutsche WeinStraße” (German Wine Street). We plan to check out other small villages this weekend. We want something that is close to a bigger city that allows us to access a bakery, cafe, pub and market easily. We’ll find it, there are plenty of places to choose from here.
Also, this was my first day driving on the Autobahn. It’s awesome! And yes, I drove fast (when appropriate and legal). My top speed was 170 Kmph (just shy of 110 mph) - it’s good stuff! And yes, I was sober, very very sober! You DO NOT want to drink AT ALL here and drive, serious stuff!
We had dinner at “Alexandros” a Greek resturant/hotel a couple of miles up the road in Kafertal, Germany. Yummy!
Tags: fast cars, food, jet lag, wine
Posted on July 26th, 2006 in Europe, Family | Leave A Comment
This city is full of eye-candy. I like the subtle things… today, shoes and socks intriguied me. I may start to make images of one thing a day and see how that translates???
I thought that the local area would keep us busy for a while and I was right. There is a lot to do within a five mile radius of here. It’s a bit overwhelming. Recently, I’ve been taken with the food and drink (can you tell?). I can’t wait to have family and friends come over and treat them to an Italian meal one night, then an Indian meal and then a German meal, etc. all authentic and very different from anything they’ve ever had. What fun that will be!
Mannheim is a clean, quiet city. I remember in Paris how loud and noisy it was (and a bit dirty), Mannheim is like a cleaned up Paris.
(A WMV movie of silly Americans)
Tags: eye candy, mannheim
Posted on July 25th, 2006 in Europe, Family | 4 Comments
The Stadtbahn into Mannheim is a wonderful ride. Although it’s unseasonably warm here, it was a blast to go into Mannheim on the train.
Mannheim is a large city and reminds me a lot of Paris (believe it or not). Maybe it’s my virgin American eyes, but it has some very cool places and cafes/coffeshops/bakeries everywhere.
Tonight, we went downtown for dinner and it was another wonderful meal in Europe! We sat outdoors in the great little place called “Hemingways”. The waitress spoke some English and with our very limited, broken, mangled German we were able to have a great meal and a lot of fun (can you say Knoblauch Es ist Weiss, Ja?)
Photos are not uploading tonight… I’ll try to update this tomorrow with images.
Tags: germany, mannheim
Posted on July 24th, 2006 in Europe, Family | 1 Comment
I started “in-processing” today. I have to attend briefings, fill out paper work and watch Power-Point presentations. This will go on all week.
Jean and I just got back from visiting the housing department. We are scheduled to look at a house in Rheinau, Germany. It’s 225 square meters, 6 bedrooms, apartment upstairs, fenced yard, terrace, etc. We’ll see what happens. We’re also second in line for a nice place near Grunstadt. I would prefer that area.
I got to video conference with my friend Caron last night. It was very enjoyable, technology is great! I hope we can do that more often!!
What a wunderbar dinner!! This is what I love (at least one of them). We had a little zin before dinner but these Wiener Wurstchen were the tastiest (a bit salty cooked in Olive Oil) with the Kohl!! There was a nice (dijon like) mustard and dill cream! The (peach) yogurt for desert was the creamiest and best I’ve ever had!! What can I say? The hits just keep on coming. Now if I can get some sleep tonight!!
Guten Nach!
Tags: changes, food, friends
