German Thanksgiving

Who knew we'd have such an authentic Thanksgiving weekend right here in Germany, thousands of miles away from home... 

Of course we didn't have any football, or family, or political conversations about Barack Obama's first dog choice, but we did eat bird and stuffing three days in a row! Now that's something to be thankful for... 

On Thursday we had our gourmet Thanksgiving dinner cooked for us by Jeremy, and on Friday we had the leftovers from that meal. On Saturday evening all three of us were invited to a "German Thanksgiving" at Anika and Michael's house, where we had more of a traditional Thanksgiving with some German accents, complete with an eighteen pound turkey, brussel sprouts, red cabbage, and potato knodelen.  

The piece-de-resistence was a quark, hot cherry, and chocolate desert that left us beyond full.

Post Script: We're having a hard time uploading the photographs from the party. We'll try later to add the rest. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

After 10 days of traveling, Dan and I made it back to Bonn yesterday, just in time to celebrate Thanksgiving with our friends. The very talented Jeremy Marzuola whipped up the entire gourmet meal for us in about two hours flat.

And may I say that this was one of the absolute best Thanksgiving dinners we've ever had. Jeremy cooked up some magic in the kitchen, including goat cheese and pear crostinis to start, a delicious candied walnut and dried cranberry spinach salad, a duck roast with rosemary and thyme wine sauce (thick white beautiful asparagus on the side), sweet potato mash, down home sourthern stuffing with andouille sausage, and last but certainly not least, cornbread with the best apple butter I've ever tasted in my life.

Dan and I are thankful for our family and friends, the pups, and this amazing opportunity we're having to explore Europe.

Vienna Day 1

Yesterday when we arrived in Vienna the temps. were frigid, and for some reason Daniel couldn't get himself warmed up enough. We wandered around a bit, had a great lunch at an Italian restaurant, wandered a bit more, ducked into a Viennese pastry and coffee cafe to get out of the blasting cold for a bit, had a delicious Cremeschnitte, then returned to the streets, where we promptly decided to head back to the hotel so Daniel could take a nice hot bath and normalize his body temperature. Usually I'm the one that gets cold, but yesterday I could have kept going in the Minnesota-like weather, but Daniel just couldn't keep up. Must be the Minnesota blood in me. Remember all, he's from the East Coast, where it doesn't get nearly as cold. 

Today we woke up and headed out into the city early, as we wanted Daniel to get a bit of sightseeing in before his meeting with Adrian at 2 this afternoon. We had breakfast and coffee at a great little coffee shop called Mobel studio, near the Museums Quartier. The owners of the coffee shop own a furniture studio next door, and every piece of furniture in the cafe is for sale. The place was pretty cool with a funky ambience and good coffee, plus super modern furniture and a definite design scene. I think we'll be back there several times before we leave on Thursday. 

After breakfast we went straight to the Leopold Museum, where we spent the next couple of hours. The Leopold Collection is one of the most important collections of modern Austrain art in the world. The museum contains the largest Egon Schiele collection in the world, together with major works by Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoschka, Richard Gerstl, and Albin Egger-Lienz. The Egon Schiele exhibition was truly amazing, and we really enjoyed learning more about this artist and his work. We also enjoyed the several different works by Gustav Klimt, as well the museum's small but quite interesting furniture collection. 

At noon Daniel left to prepare for his meeting with Adrian, and I stayed on in the Museums Quartier. I went back to Mobel Studio for another cup of coffee and a bit of a rest, before further exploring some of the smaller streets in this part of town. I found several design shops, fashion studios, and art spaces in this area, and then ended up in a more commercial shopping district on Mariahilfer strasser. I was then able to find the Vienna Furniture Museum, which houses the largest furniture collection in the world including pieces by the Thonet Brothers, Jugenstil, Luigi Blau, and Franz West. Unfortunately I didn't know the museum is closed on Monday, so I wasn't able to get inside. Maybe I'll try again tomorrow. 

So instead I walked back to the Leopold Museum where I then spent the next two hours, this time with an audio guide in hand. I revisited the Schiele exhibit which I had enjoyed so much earlier in the morning, and this time I listened to a biography of the artist's life as well as commentaries of the different works. I also went back and checked out Klimt again, as well as Richard Gerstl.

After almost 5 hours on my feet, and having skipped lunch, I decided I'd better head back to the hotel. On my way I stopped at one of the many Christmas markets that are all over the city this month. Daniel and I checked one out yesterday but it was dark, and we'd already had dinner, so we didn't get a chance to taste any of the treats.  Today I  bought myself a piece of German/Austrian fried garlic bread and also some sweet cinnamon almonds. Afterwards I took the tram back to the hotel. 

Bratislava, Wilmington Delaware of Europe

Both Dan and I agree that Bratislava seems to the Wilmington, Delaware of Central Europe. We're kind of underwhelmed with Slovakia's capital city. It's a pretty strange place, a mixture of Soviet architecture and culture with people that are trying desperately to Westernize themselves. It's like the city is trying too hard and unsuccessfully to be something that it just isn't.

We got here yesterday afternoon, and the train station was chaos. We had planned on meeting our apartment leaser there, but we weren't able to find him, or the sign he told us he'd have with our names on it. After looking around for half an hour, we decided to try, without success, to find a telephone and try giving him a call. We even offered several locals to pay them for the use of their cellphone or even to help us understand how to use the pay phones, but they all just looked at us funny and said no.

So with no other real options, we walked out into the rainy evening and made our way towards the apartment, where we hoped our leaser would be waiting for us. On the road we were able to stop in a Sheraton Hotel and they luckily let us use a telephone. We got in touch with the lessor, and he came to pick us up immediately from the hotel. He said he'd waited for us but as we didn't show up he thought we'd cancelled. Our train had been late, and he obviously didn't feel like waiting around...

We arrived at the apartment in the center of the Old Town district of Bratislava cold, hungry, and completely exhausted. The apartment was beautiful and that seemed to cheer us up. A nice hot bath also did the trick. After washing up we went out for dinner at an Argentine Restaurant where we had one very good steak, and another very bad steak that we sent back and didn't have to pay for, because apparently it was bad meat.... yikes! Thankfully we only took two bites of it and nobody got sick.

Two glasses of Malbec later and practically on the floor from exhaustion, we headed back to the apartment to get some sleep. Unfortunately we hadn't realized that the place is situated directly across from a dance club, and we could hear the music and shouting until 4AM! I brought earplugs, and luckily slept through the night. Daniel unfortunately didn't have anything to block the noise and had a tougher time getting his beauty rest.

Today our first order of business was to buy some earplugs for Daniel, so we can both sleep tonight. Afterwards we had a coffee, looked for a bakery but didn't fine any (do they not have bakeries in Slovakia?), went to a cafe for an omelet instead, then hiked up a big hill to a giant castle that was closed for renovation. The view though from the top was pretty cool, and we could see the whole city, on one side of the Danube, a maze of giant Soviet housing projects, and on the other side, I don't know, something less imposing, a small city like landscape, the old town of Bratislava, and lots of churches. An amazing contrast.

I can't really say much more, other than that I think we're having fun despite Bratislava's disappointment, and we're both excited about our trip to Vienna tomorrow morning. We'll be there until Thursday, and I hope to have more fun stories to write home about!  

Budapest Day 2 and 3

We're in a McDonalds near the train station, waiting for our train to Bratislava. It's pretty cold and gray outside, although nothing compared to what the weather must be like in Minnesota. I've got to tell you, I don't miss the snow one bit. Not one bit. 

I must say we could have spent another couple of days in this city. There's so much to do, and the apartment we rented was so nice and comfortable. We felt very at home in our JanosApartment flat, which we rented off Craigslist from Janos and Jozsef. This is the second time we've rented off Craigslist and we've always had such positive experiences. Each time we've been welcomed with such hospitality and generosity. Janos and Jozsef gave us a list of there favorite restaurants and cafes, as well as must see sites. It's so nice when you feel safe and welcomed in an unknown land.

We were pretty tired yesterday after our non-stop first day in Budapest, and since we had seen a lot of the city already, we didn't do all that much. After a breakfast of chocolate croissants and coffee, we went out to visit a bit more of the city.

Daniel really liked Andrassy Street, so we went back there to have a look at all the embassies and beautiful old restored mansions. On our way we stopped in the St. Stephen's Cathedral, the most famous church in Hungary. It's named after Hungary's Patron Saint, St. Stephen, and they even have the mummified right hand of St. Stephen displayed in one of the rooms of the church. Yikes. 

We then kept walking towards the shopping district of the city, where I forced Daniel to buy some new shoes since the ones on his feet were bothering his heel. Better to spend money on some new shoes and enjoy the rest of our trip, than to save and have Daniel get plantar fasciatis or something like that. Neither of us were all that excited about buying a new pair of shoes in a foreign country where everything costs a little bit more than at home, but we found a pair that weren't to expensive, and thankfully we were able to continue on our way, without Dan complaining from pain in his heel. 

We had lunch at a fancy, but not so tasty restaurant on the shopping district, and then took the street car back home for a quick nap before our evening plans. After a brief but much needed rest, we went out again, this time to a coffee shop down the street from out apartment, where we checked email and wrote our first post from Hungary. That post actually took much longer than expected, as downloading and uploading the photos can be a pain in the butt on blogger. 

Afterwards we walked down to a main boulevard in our neighborhood for some very good pasta at an Italian restaurant, and then headed home for more sleep. 

Ok, we're off to Bratislava. Hope you are enjoying the posts. We miss all of you and can't wait to see you when we get home. 

Love, 

Deborah and Daniel

Budapest Day 1

We've been in Budapest now for two days. Unfortunately the internet in the apartment we rented is a bit spotty, so we haven't been able to post until now. We've also been quite busy, so we haven't had a whole lot of time to share. 

Yesterday was a completely full day of exploring Budapest. We woke up at around 9 and walked down the street to a cute little cafe where we had cappuccinos and delightful pastries that rival the ones I was eating in Paris. I may break out from all the butter we ingested yesterday but I don't care. The chocolate croissants were so good! 

After breakfast we walked over to the Parliament building but were denied access by the guard at the gate. Apparently you have to sign up a day in advance for guided tours, so we decided we'd move on down the Danube. 

We walked along the river to the most famous and beautiful bridge in the city called the Chain Bridge.

Here we crossed over to the Buda side of the city where we took a vernicular up the huge hill to the enormous castle that overlooks the city. 

Once on top we took in the amazing view and walked around the area for a bit. We stopped at a confectioner's cafe that is famous for creating the Linzer Tart, though we decided to just have a coffee. 

The castle hill is one of the only attractions on the Buda side of Budapest, so we crossed back over the Danube and made our way towards the famous Great Synagogue in Pest.  The Dohany Street Synagogue is the largest synagogue in Europe and is a beautiful example of Byzantine-inspired architecture. We were both eager to learn more about Hungarian jewish history, but first we had to find some food. With the chocolate croissant level at zero we were running on empty, and stopped at the first place we walked into, a cafeteria type restaurant across the street from the synagogue. 

After a healthy and comforting meal of chicken and mashed potatoes, we made our way out again and over to the synagogue for a tour of the building and grounds. Our tour of the synagogue was lead by a Hungarian Jew who's Catholic father hid 200 Jews (including her mother) in the Budapest ghetto during WWII.  She was quite proud that her father was honored this same day by the Hungarian government for his bravery and righteousness.  

The Synagogue was like no other temple we'd ever seen. First of all, it was enormous, only a bit smaller than the Emanuel Temple in New York. Back before WWII almost 1,000 people came to pray here every Shabbat. Second, the architecture of the building was truly stunning. Whereas most Synagogues we've seen are quite simple, this one was so ornate it could have been a Cathedral or Basilica. Apparently the Hungarian Jews who built the building 1854 tried to assimilate as much as possible while still retaining their Judaism, and the Synagogue was built to resemble a Hungarian Church. 

After visiting the Synagogue we made our way to the Szechenyi Baths via the famous Andrassy Avenue. By the time we reached the largest thermal baths in Europe we were exhausted, and ready to get our soak on. 

We tried out several different natural hot tubs, including one that had an artificial swirling vortex. It was so cool. The water would pull you in like a merry go round and swing you around endlessly until you wanted out. 

After a couple of hours in the hot tubs, we dried off and began our quest for dinner. A Hungarian classmate of Deborah's had given us some dining recommendations and we made our way towards the Oktogon square. 

We eyed a nice looking pizzeria, but next door several hundred Hungarians dressed in suites and dresses were congregating in front of a beautiful building.  We found out that the Dohnanyi Orchestra was about to perform, and a man offered to sell us his tickets.  On the spur of the moment we suppressed our food urges and exhaustion for a bit of Beethoven and Brahms.  The concert was amazing, and definitely a cultural experience for us. After each piece the audience would clap in rhythmic unity that was quite strange to us.

Well, after the concert we ran back to the pizzeria with hopes that it would still be open at 10:30 pm. Luckily we were welcomed in and each had a pizza and a beer for dinner. Afterwards, we boarded the tram back to our place and collapsed in bed. 

Travel!!!

People! We just bought tickets to Budapest! We leave on Tuesday and we're planning to spend 10 days around the area. We'll be stopping in Bratislava, and ending our trip with four days in Vienna, where Daniel has a mathematics colleague who wants to do some work with him for a couple of days.

Budapest

Bratislava

Vienna

St. Augustusburg Palace

While I was struggling with a German test at the Goethe Institute and Daniel was working on a math presentation he has to give tomorrow, Marion and Irwin were out having fun in Bruhl, a small town about 20 minutes by train from Bonn.

The town is famous for the Augustusburg Palace, a Rococo masterpiece and one of the most significant buildings of its kind in Germany. The palace is surrounded by a beautiful Baroque garden, similar to the one I visited in Versailles, although much much smaller. I actually took a tour of the Augustusburg Palace and Garden last week with my classmates from the Goethe Institute, but haven't been able to fit the post or pictures in until now.

St. Augustusburg

Me

Natalia and Yoko

Natalia, Me, and Yoko

A small stream in the garden

The Garden

The Garden

Surrounding Woodlands

The Girls From Goethe Institute: Natalia from Argentina, Vassa from Uzbekistan,

 Me, Yoko from Japan, and Stefania from Italy.

St. Martin's Day

Dan and I have been pretty busy the past couple of days. We already told you about our bike trip to the Lorelei and you've seen all of those photos. We've been having a great time biking around the Rheinland... everything they say about biking in Europe is true. It's probably the best way to travel when you're here, and well worth the time and effort it takes to get around on two wheels.

On Sunday we had dinner with Ingrid and Karl Tismer. Karl is Werner's second cousin, and he and his wife were kind enough to invite us over for a wonderful dinner at their house in Rheinback, a town about twenty minutes from Bonn City Center. We enjoyed some very interesting conversation, along with some puppy time with Whoopi, their half St. Bernanrd half Newfoundland momma dog. I hope Gus is in as good a mood as Whoopi when he gets to be her age. At 13 years old, Whoopi was as gentle and friendly as a new born pup. 

We really liked meeting the Tismers, and listening to their stories about their lives in Germany after the War. I especially liked Ingrid's rice casserole cooked inside a small pumpkin. Daniel loved tasting the Reisling from Koblenz that Karl had picked for the meal. After several hours chatting and getting to know each other, Karl took us back to our apartment in Bonn.

Irwin and Marion, Daniel's parents, arrived this afternoon after a long day of crossing the pond and battling two terrible European airports, as well as a delayed train. We kept them up long enough to see the St. Martin's Day celebration here in Bonn Zentrum, where children from all the city schools get together and parade through the streets of the town with paper lanterns they made in class. 

At the end of the parade, a huge bonfire is set in the middle of the Marktplatz, as everybody gather around to watch the fire and sing traditional St. Martin's Day songs. The children each get a pastry called a Beckman, as a treat for making their beautiful lanterns.

Before I. and M. hit the sack at 7:30 pm, we all sat down for a typical German dinner of Spaghetti and Meatballs. 

Bis Morgen!