Dessau, Ni Hao

Quando a Roma // Part 2

2012-02-24T08:00:00.000+01:00

For the first two days in Rome, Angie and I couch-surfed with some architecture students who happened to be mostly international as well. We were representing the US, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and France, all in one apartment. I really loved that group, they were so interesting to talk to and we had a fun night out on the town in Rome which involved a bar that resembled a gas station and some obnoxious Katy Perry singing.

The next days ahead, we literally explored all the major landmarks in Rome, some twice or three times, and had the chance to explore some cute local neighborhoods as well. It was a lot of walking but well worth it, and I found some gifts for friends and family back home that I can't wait to deliver! The best part of all the exploring was finding nice spots to sit and eat our lunch, and stumbling upon a Carnival festival filled with adorable children in costumes, stilt walkers, and some sort of horse show. People were laughing, singing, throwing confetti and there were animated story-tellers and street performers... it was a little surreal.

And the CATS! I think I came off as more cat-obsessed than I really am while in Rome, because seriously they're everywhere. They live in the ruins, they hang out at monuments, they pester old women for food, they're even on postcards (which some lucky friends of mine will be receiving..). Coincidentally I was wearing a pair of cat earrings while in Rome just because they were the first pair I saw before I left. The combination of the earrings and squealing every time I saw a cat ... I got some looks. But hey, I squeal at dogs too. I squeal at a lot of things. I really should stop squealing in general.

The last night we were in Rome, I picked up some boxed wine from the nearby grocery store (it's surprisingly better than American boxed wine, and it's cheaper) and Angie and I bonded with some of our hostel roommates from Denmark and Chile. It was one of my favorite nights in Rome, and pretty much the best hostel experience I've had so far in Europe. I definitely left Rome with a full heart.

And now, I must finished packing up my room as it is currently 1:43am as I write this, and I leave in the morning for a short weekend at Angie's Oma's house, following the much anticipated Berlin/Dublin trip, the final adventure in my European experience!

Prost!

Quando a Roma // Part 1

2012-02-24T00:09:00.000+01:00

As my friend Hazel put it, Rome is the most photogenic city ever. Every corner you turn there is something beautiful waiting. I had the opportunity to spend 5 days in Rome with Angie, and I'll just let the pictures do most of the talking.

The first couple days, we met up with Hazel who had been a Rome a couple days already, and we explored Saint Peter's Basillica, the Sistene Chapel/Vatican Museum, and the Colosseum.

Part 2 coming soon ... And 5 bucks if you can name the following animal. We affectionately called it the "Reaver", a rat/beaver hybrid.

Prost!

Hamburg

2012-02-18T10:00:00.000+01:00

I spent a day in Hamburg gearing up for the First Aid Kit concert, and this is what I saw.

I saw my first natural, frozen ice in the form of the "big lake" in Hamburg (it's next to the "small lake"). There were thousands of people skating, playing hockey, strolling.. it was so amazing. But I did have an irrational fear that of all the people who were walking on it, I'd be the first to fall through the ice.

And now, a few more pictures of First Aid Kit because I'm kind of obsessed. I wish they were my friends.

Prost!

A Little Recap

2012-02-17T11:08:00.002+01:00

While I'm a little late for Valentine's Day (silly computer problems!), I'm going to make a little list of things I loved about this past week.

Hanging out with this stone-cold pack of weirdos (name that movie).

Garrett and I having our favorite Berlin ice-cream, even though it's sub zero temps outside.

Having the quintessential Berlin club experience in an abandoned pool.

And not only did I see my favorite band, the beautiful First Aid Kit, play...

They asked the audience to sing along with them to Ghosttown, one of my favorite songs of all time. It was a surreal moment. They are even better live than on the album.
I apologize for my bad singing in that video.

I'm so full of love right now!

Prost!

Today is very special...

2012-02-16T08:36:00.000+01:00

Because my best friend is turning 21 years old!

Linds, you're the little baby of our group, and I'm so sad to be missing such a huge milestone in your life. We've only been waiting for you for forever... hah kidding.

You're such a sweet soul, a driven power-house, and all-around beautiful woman and I'm so honored to have you in my life. Friends from 6th grade 'till forever! I love you very much, you radical babe!

Prost, to you!

Tunicates

2012-02-09T18:51:00.000+01:00

Here's a little look inside the project I've been working on for my CadLogic class. We had to find a skin in nature and mimic it in a technological way. My group chose the tunicate, an underwater water feeder.

And with that, school in Germany is done. So bittersweet.

Prost!

Congestion

2012-02-07T23:05:00.000+01:00

photo via pinterest

This is what my head feels like right now. And I hope it pops soon, because girlfriend is not very happy. (That was me trying to talk 90's talk -- I'm not referring to a 3rd party girlfriend, to be clear. I could have just deleted that line but instead I decided to write three more clarifying my bad reference).

When I'm feeling sick and having violent sneeze attacks, my favorite thing to do is cuddle up with a pup, watch a good rom com, maybe sip on some tea and munch on some crackers.

But... none of those things happened today because I have a big deadline on Thursday. Bad news, this project has been a pain in the neck due to the lack of liquid latex supply in Dessau. What is this, a third world country?! Just kidding, folks. Good news, I think this project will turn out pretty cool! And I get to make a video about the process, which I love doing, so no sweat about that. Now to make progress on my paper about tunicates. Wait... what? Got you real nice and curious, eh?

Prost!

Snapshots // Superbowl Sunday

2012-02-07T00:12:00.000+01:00

Superbowl Sunday was a blast, even though it was lacking the hype of spending it in the States. We had a quiet get-together of close friends, enjoyed way too much food while streaming the big game, and had fun teaching some Germans and Canadians (and 1 Ukrainian) how to play beer pong.

For the record, disposable cups are way too expensive here.

Woo Giants!

Prost!

Video: London

2012-02-05T15:21:00.000+01:00

Here's a little video I made of my London trip.

Music: Jungle Drum by Emilíana Torrini

Enjoy! And donate to my "I need a good quality camera" fund!

Just kidding!

Not really, give me money!

Prost!

Aggressive Cold and Chris Larson and Jimmy Kimmel

2012-02-04T11:00:00.003+01:00

Yesterday it was -15 C (5 F) at one point here in Dessau. That's the kind of cold that's not messing around.

This frozen installation by Minnesotan artist Chris Larson, from the short film Deep North, sums up how I feel about that. Maybe this is mainly just a feminine problem, but a cold toilet first thing in the morning is such a cruel, cruel reality.

Lately to keep myself busy now that school has slowed down, I like to watch Jimmy Kimmel videos on YouTube. Why was I not aware of his amazing interviewing skills? He's been cracking me up on a daily basis. I've never considered myself a "talk-show person", but I guess since I've been keeping up with Ellen, Jimmy Fallon, and Jimmy Kimmel via the internet while in Germany, I sort of am now? Since the theme of today is aggressive cold, I thought I'd share this interview of Kimmel and John Krasinkski that had me smiling. Watch all three parts if you have time; I would give anything to be best friends/neighbors with these two.

ps // I updated the look of the blog, what do you think? It took me a while to figure out the simplest of things, but I'm on my way to a look I can be proud of. Next, to figure out buttons/sidebar stuff. If anyone has coding tips, pass them on, pretty please.

Prost!

A Self-Portrait Challenge

2012-02-03T16:49:00.000+01:00

Today I was blog surfing as normal when I came across this challenge on The Paper Mama. I've been seeing lots of themes this month along the lines of loving your body, your mind, and yourself and I find it all so empowering and wonderful. Especially coming out of January when so many people are in the "LET'S GET THIN" mindset. I'm all for being healthy but sometimes in the influx of motivational pictures and recipes coming up on my pinterest and blog reads, I get overwhelmed and feel increasing guilty as the days go by and I'm still trying to finish off that bottomless box of ice cream. I need to love me, right now.

Obsessing over…
Snow! The ground is covered here in Dessau which are weather conditions I'm not used to. The beauty, the smell, the noise! When I hear that crunching noise of snow under my boots, I'm flooded with happy snow memories from my childhood.

Working on…
One school project left for my CadLogic class, and then I'm done with school here in Dessau. Time flies, man.

Thinking about…
Warmer places, although I wouldn't trade this for anything.

Anticipating…
Going home... as much as I love Germany, I really miss my family and friends and I'm ready to welcome them back into my life (in person, and not on skype!).

Listening to…
My upstairs neighbor's ungodly loud washing machine. Is it necessary to do laundry every day?

Eating…
I haven't eaten much today on account of a wine hangover. Headaches for dayz.

Wishing…
I'm wishing I could pack up all my new friends here and put them in my suitcase. The official "goodbyes" have started and it's all got me feeling weepy.

Time for me to hit the library!

Prost!

What I Ate: Holiday Trip

2012-02-01T12:19:00.001+01:00

I've got my life figured out (sort of). I've got my priorities straight.

Food is the most important part of any vacation. Yep.

Here are all the amazing things I (and my travel-mates) ate.

An authentic Dutch Crunch roll in Amsterdam

Belgian Chocolates

Sausage with Spicy Onions in Bruges

Crepes below the Eiffel Tower

Chinese near Versailles

Lemon Tart #1

My first macaroons

Raspberry

An amazing mushroom crepe after a long day at the Louvre

Macaroons and French-dubbed Simpsons at the hotel

The beginning of the macaroon obsession

Lemon Tart #2

Warm Baguette with Cheese

This macaroon tasted like an Oreo!

What you get when you order hot chocolate in Paris.

Berry crumble for breakfast

Finishing off the macaroons before the flight - Strawberry

Pistachio

Toasted Baguette

Lemon Tart #3 .. Obviously my favorite thing about Paris.

A fish market in London.. I didn't eat these but I couldn't resist those stares.

Skewered Salmon and Organic Juice

Carrot Cake in London

Cupcakes eaten by Christine and Kaitlin

Finally, our dream fish and chips experience. So tasty.

In a couple weeks I head to Italy... and you better believe there will be a food diary just as extensive as this one.

Prost!

Holiday Trip '11-'12: London

2012-01-31T22:59:00.000+01:00

I'm finally getting around to my last installment of the Holiday Trip series. I'm such a slacker, I know! But the thought of picking my favorite pictures and then editing them was too overwhelming with finals looming over me. Thankfully, the end is right around the corner. Not thankfully, it's almost time to leave this wonderful place. But that's for another post.

London! My favorite city on the trip, and maybe ever. I just fell in love, everything about it was amazing. After a rocky end to my Paris trip anything was up from there, but I like to think that had nothing to do with it.

Christine and I arrived to London in the evening, and even though we had some tricky night-time transportation to deal with -- tricky mostly due to the fact we were so ungodly tired we could barely keep our eyes open -- we made it to our couch surfing hosts' place. If you don't know what couch surfing is.. well google it right now. It changed the way I think about travel and now I consider "connecting with locals" high on my travel must-do list. Anyway, Christine and I were lost for a bit in a rather shady part of town (opposite direction of where our host's pad was), but magically, a fox appeared and led us to a park, where the place was just around the corner from. We had never seen a fox before and I may have squealed with delight. After that we lovingly referred to that fox as our "spirit fox guide".

Our host set us up in her living room with a blow up mattress, and to our delight their Christmas tree was still up. We were so happy, I can barely describe that moment. Drunk off of lack of sleep and finally getting to lay down, all while underneath glowing white lights.

Needless to say we slept until 1pm the next afternoon. It was much needed rest, but we were quickly losing daylight. After a wonderful home cooked breakfast by our hosts, we set out to take some picture of Big Ben + the Parliament (the next Florence + the Machine?) and walk along the waterfront. Christine and I enjoyed each others company but we were sad to find that no food places were open, and of course we had set a mission to find the best fish and chips in London. We settled on a coffee shop instead.

On day two, Christine and I met up with Kaitlin who was staying with a different couch surfing host. We did some stops on the Harry Potter tour (that last picture is of the inspiration of Diagon Alley!) which made us insanely happy. We also did a little shopping and I found some cute new things, and some presents that were unfortunately left at a bar in the latter part of the London trip. Sad times.

The rest of the trip we managed to shop, and shop some more (which explains were most of my January money went) and just relax. It was so nice to just hang and chat with the girls and not take on London at full speed like the rest of our trip. We found lots of time to eat, drink tea, BUY tea (yummm), visit free museums (London rocks), get haircuts, and just relax. We did manage to get our fish and chips, thanks to Kaitlin's host.

The last night, Christine, Kaitlin and I met our hosts for drinks at a hip bar in Soho, London (news to me that the one in NY wasn't the first). This first bar was the black hole in which my gifts were lost... but the night was amazing from there on out. Our hosts had to go home and get to bed, but since our flight was really early and because we didn't want to oversleep, we decided to just party and then sleep on the plane. Oh, the life of the responsible. We hung out with a co-worker of our host who was cute as ever, and her date who was also way adorable considering he danced like a goofball with a group of girls, and had to share his date with us. We danced, did some shots (some of us not so successfully... Christine), and met a tranny -- hooray! Best night ever!

We went back to the house just to pack and get our things, and then to the airport we went. It was a miserable time, as usual, due to lack of seating and the super fast security (which surprisingly is a bad thing when you have time to kill).

Then it was home, sweet Dessau. I was sad to see the trip end, but reminiscing on it all is still really exciting. I still can't believe that all happened.

Pinch me.

Prost!

Holiday Trip '11-'12: Paris

2012-01-19T17:28:00.001+01:00

I'm sorry I've been absent so long... Dead week has finally arrived in Germany. It look a lot longer than normal to come around, and it did a good job of sneaking up on me. I took a break from my floor plans (which WILL be done today) to edit some of my photos and get this whole holiday trip coverage back on track.

So here we go! Paris was especially hard to be selective about photos. So bare with me here.

That sunset has zero editing! It was seriously amazing.

I have an obsession with the goddess Diana.

Real mummy!!!

This Parisian trip was seriously all over the place.We had mostly good times, but some bad times too. I came into Paris on my own on December 28th by bus from Bruges. Bruges happened so quickly, and I had no internet access, so I'm not going to lie, I was a little unprepared. I know I was getting off the bus in Paris... but where in Paris? I knew where my hotel was but had no sense of the scale of Paris. And peoples, Paris is huge. The width of my finger on the map could have easily been three miles. Maybe even more, I'm no map expert. So I get off the bus and it's late afternoon.. after coming out of the bus station, I look for an information booth, yet they are all closed. I still have no idea why, unless 12/28 is a French holiday that I've never heard of. A young bus driver approached me as I probably looked visibly confused walking in circles and looking at maps posted by the street. His English wasn't perfect but we managed to get on the same page. He looked up the distance on his iPhone (I really wish I had one in that moment) and said to me "damn, that's far". Haha, great!

I eventually made it to my hotel after lots of walking around and asking people on the street. Christine and Amanda had already been in Paris for two days, and their stuff was in the hotel room we had reserved, but they were not! I met up with them at Notre Dame an hour later after some more getting lost on public transit (Are you seeing the trend? It keeps going...). By this time it was dark and sprinkling, but oh my goodness, Notre Dame at night was so beautiful. There was a large Christmas Tree all lit up and was all so romantic. Which is exactly what every single Parisian man must have been thinking too, because poor Amanda and Christine were frequently approached by creepy guys who didn't speak English. We exchanged some hilarious creeper-stories as we walked to the Pont de Arts Bridge to see the Locks of Love, and then on to the Eiffel tower. There we were approached by a group of three men who relentlessly tried to get to know us, though we weren't giving them much to work with, haha. Eventually we just abruptly turned and walked the opposite direction from where we came, and ended up at Trocadéro; a beautiful view of the tower where we could take pictures and avoid the huge crowds underneath the tower.

On day two, Christine and Amanda stayed behind in the hotel in the morning in order to work on some homework and business stuff. I met up with Hazel who is staying in a local apartment with her wife, best friends, and sister and brother in law. We all went to Versailles and had an amazing time; her group was incredible -- very inviting, and so interesting to talk with. We bought the all-access tickets so we got to see the main palace, the gardens, and Marie Antoinette's private house. It was like a dream. Sophia Coppola's version of Marie Antoinette is one of my favorite movies ever visually, and it felt like being right in the scenes (for good reason, it was filmed there!). We were on our way out through the gardens when the sun set, it was perfect timing. That pink sunset was just screaming Marie.

Day three, we were reunited with Garrett and we took a trip to the Louvre. We literally spent the entire day there. Easily. At this point, my feet had taken a real beating from all the walking of the trip as a whole. Garrett and Amanda felt the same, and we took frequent breaks much to Christine's dismay. We admired her energy.

Day four was New Years Eve, and we decided to take it a little easy considering we expected to have a long night ahead. We lazed around the hotel in the morning and met up with some of Hazel's group (sans Hazel) for a tour of the Marais distract -- a once aristocratic district taken over by industrial enterprises after the Industrial Revolution. Our tour guide was adorable and so French, haha.

We went back to the hotel to change, and then headed out for dinner. It was the most amazing dinner of my entire life; Duck Confie with roasted potatoes, escargot (yum!), some rose wine and a meringue dessert. I'll post pictures in a food round-up soon!

The night quickly turned sour after that. We met up with Hazel's group, whom are still awesome haha, but the countdown was a little anti-climatic. We went to the Louvre for a good view of the Eiffel Tower, but sadly nothing happened at midnight. Not even a countdown of any sort, so people were randomly cheering in small groups as their phone told them it was midnight. We found a little more excitement as we walked along the main street and some cars were honking and people were shouting. The group of us walked and walked for maybe an hour through giant crowds making our way to Champ de Elysee because we heard there were clubs and bars, and that was the direction of the general crowd. We went into a small, already crowded bar to have a drink with Hazel's crew. We had a lot of fun and laughs, and made plans for when we're all back in California again. I can't wait to hang out with Hazel and her wife in SLO! After one drink we split ways, and Christine, Garrett, Amanda and I looked for somewhere to dance. We didn't find anything except a club of senior citizens dancing to "Celebrate Good Times", so we kept walking towards the arch.

Suddenly there were people running towards us covering their noses and mouths. Confused, we looked around and saw some guy yelling and running in the street as riot police in full gear were spraying him with pepper spray. Then we felt it -- burning in our noses and mouths, so we turned around and walked briskly away. At this point we lost the will to party.. sadly.. and attempted to get home. Garrett needed to get to the airport for an early morning flight so we said goodbyes and good lucks.

Myself and the other girls found to our horror that every metro station around us was closed, and piles of people were sitting at all the bus-stops, waiting for night buses that didn't seem to be coming. Our hotel and may others we met along the way assured us public transit would be working (and free!) on New Years Eve.. but it was not. I'm still not sure why. But after many failed attempts at hailing cabs, renting bikes, and hitchhiking, we ended up walking towards our hotel (that was near Versailles, probably close to 20 miles away) for three hours and then waiting 2 hours for the normal day trams to start running, then taking the tram for 30 minutes, then walking another 30 to get to our hotel. We were exhausted, and pretty miserable. And we didn't really get the cool New Years Eve experience. But we were able to laugh about it the next day once we were in our right minds again. Poor Amanda didn't get to sleep because she had to go straight to the train station to catch a morning train for Dessau.

My last day in Paris turned it around as Christine and I woke up right before check-out. Feeling a little rested we walked to Notre Dame once again and took in it's beauty in daytime. We had a leisurely breakfast, read magazines, took pictures in front of gargoyles -- a typical girl's day. We spent the afternoon walking through small streets and finding any new food we hadn't gotten to try yet, and buying little knick-knacks for our friends and family back home.

Before we knew it, London was on the horizon!

If you made it through all that, you're a champ! High five!

Holiday Trip '11-'12: Bruges

2012-01-13T15:02:00.000+01:00

You caught me... the picture above is actually of the Antwerp train station, not Bruges, but it was too beautiful to pass up!

Oh, Bruges, Belgium. The next stop on our Christmas Tour began on December 26, and there was definitely an odd quiet getting off the bus from the train station. We weren't used to it after the hustle and/or bustle that is Amsterdam. In fact, Garrett and I were calling it "little Amsterdam" at one point because of it's similar yet smaller scaled canal system.

Garrett, Ali and I packed a lot into this little mini-stop considering we only had one full day to explore. However, it was totally do-able and any more days than that and we might have become bored. If anyone reading this is considering a trip to Bruges, 1-2 days max, people. You can walk end to end in about 20 minutes.

We arrived into Bruges in the afternoon of the 26th, so after quickly checking into our hostel we decided to explore the area around our hostel in search of some food. We stumbled across some humongous (I've never typed that word before... it looks funny) windmills and posed in front of them -- I save those type of pictures for facebook, haha. We were feeling pretty Belgian. It only took us maybe 5 minutes to explore the immediate area, and there was no food in site. Cute neighborhoods, and a quaint church (to European standards anyway), but no food. So we headed towards the center of town and found ourselves, where else, but a Christmas Market. It was pretty happenin' considering the ghost-town vibe of the rest of town, so we stopped there for food. I had myself a foot-long sausage smothered in onions and spicy mustard. I don't want to diss on my homie Germany, but it rivaled my favorite bratwurst stand... Good one Belgium. We also found a little grocery store and I bought some Belgium chocolate (had to!) to take home. Oh yeah, and then I may have gone back to the Christmas Market for a Belgian waffle. Don't judge, I'm on vacation! We ended the night by relaxing at the hostel restaurant which was actually more like a nice pub, and with our meal the hostel gave us a coupon for free beer tastings! That was the night I tasted the best beer I've ever had in my entire life. The dark, blonde, and cherry beer were all orgasmic. Seriously. I'll never go back to Keystone again.

The next day was our full day so we intended to hit all the major sites. One of our favorite things about Belgium was that all the museums were crazy cheap, at least in comparison to Amsterdam. We saw an old creepy church (pictured above) that had a "recreation of Jesus' tomb". It was more like a claustrophobic closet of death, so I just stayed outside of it and took pictures of Garrett and Ali going in. No death closets for me. In the same museum that included the church there was a lace museum because Bruges is known for it's lace-makers. It was beautiful, and I'm a little bummed we didn't make it back in time for the afternoon demonstration on lace-making! We also went to a museum of Flemish art that included incredibly realistic paintings, and a few modern abstract ones. We went back to the Christmas Market for lunch, and then it was time to climb the crooked Belfry. No, the picture above is not an illusion, and it's not my unsteady hand (known to ruin other pictures). It really is crooked, and it was a main feature in the movie In Bruges if you've seen it. It had near 400 steps and the staircase was only big enough for one-way traffic. If someone was coming down, we'd have to press ourselves up against the wall of the spiral staircase tower and endure some awkward brushing. But in the end it was all worth it when we happened to be at the top during the ringing of the bells, and we got a complete view of Bruges; It was breathtaking.

Our last stop of the day was at a family owned brewery that was recommended by locals. For 6 euro you get a tour of the brewery and see the beer-making process. At the end you're treated with a free blonde beer.. and again, Belgian beer, SO delicious. It can make a beer-leiver out of anyone (yeah, I just made that bad joke). However, moving on, the night was not quite over yet! We searched and searched and finally found a cheapish place to get fries to go. We couldn't leave Belgium without having Belgian fries to rival the San Luis Obispo, CA cult-favorite snack stand Bel-Frites. While Bel-Frites is good, I think they're over-thinking it. The real Belgian french fries are all about SAUCE. My personal favorites are the garlic and hollandaise, but there were so many to choose from that I didn't get to try them all.

Bruges was a compact, historical gem. Definitely recommended by me.

Where was next? ...

Holiday Trip '11-'12: Amsterdam

2012-01-09T19:37:00.001+01:00

It's easy to see why I love Amsterdam. It's one of the most interesting cities I've ever been. Amsterdam basically served as the meeting hub of this trip. Because the group of us going all had different classes and assignments, we all left on different days in groups of two. The first day, Hazel and Amanda arrived. The day after, myself and Ali got into town. The day after that, Christine and Garrett finally joined us.

On the first day I arrived, Ali and I took a much needed nap before heading out with Hazel and Amanda on a free walking tour. These things are the best, let me tell you; there is a similar company in Berlin. These tours are led by knowledgeable, funny, charismatic tour guides who are only paid based on tips, basically what the tour-goer thinks the tour is worth. Which brings me to a story that made me a whole lot more pessimistic as a tourist, at least at first. Our tour in Amsterdam was led by an adorable Aussie named Julian (or was it Jared?), who claimed he was "swept off his feet by a nice Dutch girl" and moved to the city a couple of years ago. He dazzled us with his facts! He got the crowd involved in funny demonstrations! We "oohed" and "aaahed" on cue! It was a fantastic tour. After it was over, he mentioned he was going for a beer and quick bite to eat. Most of the crowd shoved bills in his face and scurried off, but we decided to hang around and buy him a beer instead. I thought, "What a great guy! It'd be so awesome to have a friend in Amsterdam! Maybe he can let us in on some secrets! We totally bonded when he made that prostitute joke about me!" Okay, that last part isn't true. It was probably a joke about cheese.

Anyway, he responded to our enthusiastic offer for bonding with "Oooh... yeah uh, sure. If you want to." Maybe it's just me, but that doesn't sound like the ripe blossom of friendship. But we shook off his weird response and headed to the bar. Suddenly, Julian/Jared/Jake/John seemed to be a huge hurry, and said he needed to make some phone calls so we should just order. We got our beers and were enjoying them (and I mean, really enjoying them, Belgium has great beer!!). We were almost done when he comes in, thanks us for the beer, and drinks it at lightning speed. We got a few questions in about Amsterdam but he seemed aloof and uninterested. To end the deal, he convinced us to take a Red Light District Tour, called up his friend who sells the tickets, then bolted out as soon as we bought a tour for 9 euro. Hmm, well that was a let-down.

Moral I learned: Free tours are amazing. I can't recommend them enough. But don't try to befriend the tour guides. They are funny, and charming, and adorable, because it's their job. But as soon as you want to be real-life friends without the agenda of a tip, they'll totally crush you. Thanks a lot, J.

Even though our promising life-long connection with J the tour guide didn't pan out, we fit in so many amazing things; almost-wine-tasting which just turned into cheese tasting, a cheap boat tour through the canals, amazing street food, seeing the Red Light District, going to a coffeeshop, Christmas Eve at a "free Christmas concert" (totally was church... in Dutch), Christmas dinner at an Argentinian steak house, and finally, exploring a completely modern neighborhood on the outskirts of Amsterdam. I affectionately called it "Thesis Land" because every residence looked like a studio project.

On the 26th of December, Garrett, Ali and I woke up at the crack of dawn to make our way to Bruges, Belgium while the others went straight to Paris.

You were great, Amsterdam! I hope we meet again!

Prost!

Holiday Trip '11-'12: Berlin

2012-01-08T00:20:00.000+01:00

*Disclaimer: These recap posts will probably be my longest ever! Read on at your own risk.

I'm finally back from my trip and slept for about a full day. It's crazy how much I needed to relax after my "vacation". We kept ourselves pretty busy seeing sights, museums, free tours, walking walking walking walking walking... and more walking. Besides almost all of us completely demolishing our shoes (since we only had room to pack one pair each) we had such a fantastic time! I'll never forget this time I had traveling Europe and becoming closer to the friends who took the trip with me. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

First stop, Berlin! The pictures above are all from my one-day layover in Berlin, as I will call it. I mentioned before that Kaitlin and her parents invited us to Berlin to meet up with them. After some amazing Indian food (the first I've had in Europe, yummy!), we all sort of went our separate ways. I stayed with a friend of my roommate's, Ana! She is such a doll and we had a really good time staying up late, drinking champagne and talking in her kitchen.

The next day she had to go to work so I set out in the city on my own to explore. The weather was beautiful in the morning but it took a quick turn in the afternoon, so I sat in a Starbucks in Pariser Platz, got myself a hot cocoa (to pair with my home-roasted pumpkin seeds) and people-watched in front of Brandenburger Tor. It was nice to relax and be still for a moment.. I don't seem to get much of that time here in Europe because there's just too much to see! It wasn't long before the man sitting next to me at Starbucks struck up a conversation. Luckily he was very interesting and I learned about his life in Dubai.

With just a little time left to kill while I waited for my friend Ali to come so we could go to the airport, I popped into the Kennedy Museum that happens to be next door to Starbucks. It was filled with Kennedy family memorabilia and I learned way more about the iconic family. Jackie is my favorite, of course. They had a little movie room inside so I sat and watched President Kennedy's "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech ("I am a Berliner"). Little did he know that a Berliner is not only someone from Berlin, but also a jelly doughnut. His German accent is downright terrible, because I know you were dying to know.

Ali and Hossein arrived, and Hossein showed off his Coldplay ticket; totally not fair. Ali and I decided we'd go with him to the arena and see if we could buy some last minute tickets from a scalper, thinking if we waited until the concert started the prices would go down. However, things didn't go according to plan when there were 20 people looking and only 2 old sketchy guys selling. So it wasn't our fate to meet Chris Martin.. but we did manage to meet a guy from Berkeley who was also looking and unsuccessful, and he took us to a bar to hang out until it was airport time.

A couple beers and one very expensive taxi ride later, Ali and I were at the airport! After a few uncomfortable hours trying to sleep on airport benches, we were departed for Amsterdam...

Prost, for now!

Christmas Break is finally here! .. well almost.

2011-12-20T09:29:00.000+01:00

I had all these amazing posts written in my head, about the first snowfall, cooking my first whole pumpkin and making seeds and pie (DELICIOUS pie... thanks to Paula Deen and The PW), and my plans for my trip, but plans unexpectedly changed and now I'm leaving TODAY. A friend's parents invited myself and some others to go to Berlin tonight to have dinner, and it just didn't make sense to come back for only half a day. So hello Berlin! I'm adding you to the stops on my Christmas Break Adventure!

Since I don't have time to give this post the lovin' it deserves, I'm just going to show some favorite pictures I found via Flickr of the places I'll be going. This is probably the most adventurous trip I've ever taken and I'm beyond excited about it. Seeing new architecture, experiencing new culture... this is the pinnacle of what I came to Europe to do!

Berlin

Amsterdam

Bruges

Paris

London

Seriously.. can someone please pinch me?

Prost, Frohe Weihnachten und neues Jahr!

The Artist

2011-12-18T16:38:00.001+01:00

I'm quickly losing a sense of knowledge on popular culture in the United States. I never considered myself a devout follower of pop culture, but I think as Americans we are trained to incorporate it in daily life. I'm actually learning about the most recent pop culture events through Ellen Degeneres' YouTube channel. Haha, maybe that's a little sad to admit?

However, I just saw her do an interview with Berenice Bejo on her show. Not only is Bejo crazy beautiful, but also the star of the film "The Artist" (and the director's wife!). Since I had no idea what "The Artist" was, I googled it of course. A modern-day silent movie? Great costuming and tap dancing? Oh, I'm so down. I can't wait to get my hands on this movie!

Prost!

Schnizel

2011-12-17T16:18:00.001+01:00

Hello readers!

Please ignore the frequent layout changes/tweaks. I still haven't found one that I feel like really works for me, and I don't have the time to mess around with it as much as I'd like. I really wish I knew more about HTML and scripting. But trust me, I'm working on it.

But that's not what this post is all about! This post is about schnitzel! The glorious schnitzel, a German delicacy and pretty easy to make, to boot. Angie had been promising us (Americans and choice Macedonians ;D) a "typical German meal" for a while now and we finally got around to making it happen. I was in a constant state of excitement all day because for 1. I haven't had a lot of German food here in Germany, mostly out of fear of jellied meats and 2. I know Angie doesn't like things like jellied meat. And if you don't know what jellied meat is... well good. It's exactly what it sounds like.

Anyway, I thought I'd help out (errr.. or annoy) Angie while she's preparing the meal and show the process on here. My mom is expecting me to be a schnitzel expert by the time I come back so this was prime learning time. Even though when I come back I'll be vegan again... maybe this process can be applied to tofu or soy meat? On second thought, pounding tofu might get messy.

Ok, I'm getting off track, here we go!

First, acquire "pig butt". I'm sure there's a more appropriate term but I'm going with Angie's translation.

Next, beat the pieces senseless with a frying pan to flatten them out.

Salt and pepper them. So simple, so good.

Next, you "dress" the schnitzel according to the lesson Angie's grandmother taught her. First the underwear (flour)...

Then the skirt (egg wash) ...

Then the jacket (polenta/bread crumb mixture) ... Hopefully I got those articles of clothing right!

Repeat, then fry!

Oh yes, and take a shot of jager to celebrate! (Don't worry, I was holding my shot in one hand and the camera in the other).

Unfortunately I have no pictures of the complete meal because once people starting arriving, my focus was hosting duties and sweet conversation. We ate our schnitzel with a side of boiled potatoes, peas, and carrots (all covered in butter of course). We had a great night, and I'll say it a million times: I love my friends! We took some pretty ridiculous portraits on the fish eye camera that maybe I'll share later if the others are okay with it.

Thank you Angie for a fine German meal!

Prost!

Looking towards the future...

2011-12-15T23:41:00.002+01:00

This morning I came across an interesting project called Industry of One via Miss Moss. Diana of MM pretty much said it all, but I have to agree that it's so much more interesting to learn about regular everyday people than celebrities, and I take a lot of inspiration from people I can relate to (the amazing Miss Moss being one of them!).

Being that lately I've been considering my options after graduation and the path my life will go down next, I thought this was a perfect project to share. So here's a very select few of my favorite images. How amazing is the design of the site and the style of the interviewees?

I hope when I'm a professional, no matter what I'm doing, I can pull off looks as cool as these ones.

Prost!

My Weekend in Freiberg/Dresden

2011-12-14T19:07:00.001+01:00

I'm not the best videographer, but I had fun filming. Next time I need to work on holding the camera a little more steady!

Prost!

Back in Business

2011-12-12T22:13:00.001+01:00

Just a little preview of this past weekend. No snow, but almost!

Prost!

Fun Weekend Ahead!

2011-12-09T12:03:00.001+01:00

As I sit in my studio awaiting a seminar session, I thought I'd check in and share my plans for a most exciting weekend, since I didn't get a chance to post yesterday. Gotta keep the readers happy (hi Mom!).

At 3 I leave Depressau (haha... the Italians came up with that one) and board a train with Angie to Leipzig where we pick up Rafi and Francie, then we go to Freiberg, Angie's hometown!

Tonight we'll go to a concert with Angie's mom, then Saturday exploring Dresden and seeing some world-famous Christmas markets. On Sunday, we'll have a birthday brunch to celebrate Angie's day of birth! Hooray!

I'm excited to explore a new place, and hopefully there will be snow. Dessau is totally lacking and I want a white Christmas, darn it!

I'm going to try and collect footage for a video because I just love making those. We'll see how it goes.

Prost!

Responsible Adult Moment

2011-12-07T10:21:00.002+01:00

There's times in all our lives when we have to make a grown-up decision, instead of the preferred choice. I shall explain.

I was obsessed with a garment called the "One Piece". It looks a little something like this.

via One Piece

I was really close to buying it, even though my friends thought I was crazy. Did I mention it's close to 200 euro? Yeah, insane. (but imagine how awesome Christmas morning would be with that thing on???!)

Fast forward two weeks later (since seeing it in Berlin) and I still don't have it. Hesitation is growing the longer I wait. As I'm prowlin' the internet as usual, I come across a planner. And not just any planner. A beautifully illustrated, perfect, organized planner.

via Nation State

You'll just have to trust me when I say the inside is phenomenal.Why are good planners so hard to find? Perhaps the world will never know, but I had an idea. Internal monologue commence.

Let's make a bargain, adult self.

Let's order this planner, which is a little pricier than the average staples planner, but pass on the one piece sweat suit, therefore leaving the funds in tact for the upcoming winter excursion through Amsterdam, Bruges, Paris, and London.

Ok... deal.

So moral of the story is, I don't have a onesie (..there's a shop in LA, maybe next year??!), but I have a beautiful planner coming in the mail, and I'm not stressing about finances.

Win, win. Go me.

Prost!

Nikolaustag

2011-12-06T11:33:00.001+01:00

Seriously, how did I end up with the best roommates ever?

As I dragged my feet into the kitchen this morning, Angie says to me "Have you seen your shoes this morning?". Suddenly, I'm recalling all the times this week she's told me to "clean my shoes" for the upcoming German holiday ("It's not a holiday!" -Angie). When I went out into the hall, this is what I found:

Happy Nikolaustag!

December 6th is Nikolaustag, a day in which St. Nikolaus brings gifts for the children of Germany. If you're bad, you get wood and coal, but if you're good (and apparently Nikolaus/Rafi thought I was), you get candy and treats in your shoes (and walnuts?).

A little internet research has taught me that while in Germany, Santa comes in many different forms, it is believed that St. Nikolaus was the first "version" of Santa Clause. He is also known here as "der Weihnachtsmann" (Father Christmas, or the Christmas Man), or by the Protestants (Luther didn't believe in idealizing saints) "der Heilige Christ", later called "das Christkindl", which eventually made it's way to America as "Kris Kringle". Get all that?

It's like getting a stocking 18 days early!!

Prost!

Under the Weather

2011-12-06T09:10:00.001+01:00

via Pinterest

Unfortunately I caught some sort of bug this past weekend that's started my week off pretty crappy. I've managed to get a little homework done but headaches, a sort throat, and an unstoppable waterworks of a nose has mostly kept me in bed looking at blogs and watching Disney movies. Not so good when I'm supposed to have a completed design for my museum project in 2 weeks! Once this cold is beat it's crackdown time, for sure.

I've been drinking a crazy amount of fluids to ensure I'm better by this weekend for Angie's birthday! I'm excited to go to her hometown, meet her family, and go to Dresden for the first time. It's going to be magical (granted I'm actually healthy).

In the meantime, I've been living off butternut squash soup, and Angie is a fantastic nurse who's been making me tea and went out and got ice cream for me when my throat (and tongue due to a hot-tea accident) was on fire. What a champ she is!

Prost, und Gesundheit!

Banana Cupcakes

2011-12-05T09:00:00.001+01:00

I promised I'd fill this holiday seasons with cupcakes, and I'm no liar. Angie found some silicon liners for me and I just had to use them as soon as I got home from the store. Talk about dedicated. I had some ripe bananas that were due for some banana bread (I've made a banana bread addict out of Angie), but decided cupcakes would be the better option this time.

I followed Martha's recipe pretty much exactly, but I'll copy it down here just for convenience's sake. Also, I'm aware mine are nowhere as pretty as Martha's, but hey, it was my first time using silicon cups and I got a little sloppy. I promise to do better next time, dear bakers of the blogworld.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 4 ripe bananas)
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners (or in my case, silicon cups without liners). In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Make a well in center of flour mixture. In well, mix together butter, mashed bananas, eggs, and vanilla. Stir to incorporate flour mixture (do not overmix). Dividing evenly, spoon batter into muffin cups.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan; cool completely on a wire rack. Spread tops with Honey-Cinnamon Frosting. Just before serving, peel and slice banana into rounds, and place one on each cupcake, if desired.

Honey-Cinnamon Frosting

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon honey (I used homemade from my roommate)
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat confectioners' sugar, unsalted butter, honey, and ground cinnamon until smooth, 4 to 5 minutes.

Prost!

Some Sound Advice

2011-12-04T12:44:00.000+01:00

What do you do when you ride your bike to the south of town to buy model supplies from the German Home-Depot equivalent, to realize the piece of plastic you bought is a little big for your basket?

Well it's your lucky day, I'll show you.

Let your roommate (who so kindly accompanied you) tie the plastic to your back like a McGuyver backpack.

Strike a pose to appease the many passerby who are snickering at you.

Don't stop there, the camera needs to capture your better side. I'm channeling Agnes Dean in this picture. Can you tell I'm "smizing"?

Put on your fiercest game face, and get ready to brave wind and rain, all the while providing comic relief for cute little old men on bicycles who will make comments to you in German.

That wasn't so hard, now was it?

Prost!

Happy December!

2011-12-01T21:40:00.001+01:00

image via potteck

I love this month. I vow to fill it with cupcakes (thanks to my new 2 euro silicon liners), traveling (Dresden, Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, London), and general merriment (good golly, I love the holidays).

Prost!

DIY Eggnog

2011-11-30T12:34:00.000+01:00

In my opinion, eggnog is the end-all, be-all of Christmas season treats, but unfortunately the Germans do not agree. Because of this tragedy, I had to take matters into my own hands. Luckily there are lots of homemade eggnog recipes on the interwebz, so I took my pick and got to work! I was a little nervous about contracting salmonella from the raw eggs at first, but the many reviews I read reassured me that it's very rare and many people have been drinking this homemade recipe for many, many years without incident. Also, apparently pasteurized eggs go through a special process to lessen these risks.

Homemade Eggnog

3 cup whole milk or cream

6 eggs

8 tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoon vanilla essence
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Beat the eggs with an electric mixer in a bowl until they are uniform and a little frothy. Add the milk and sugar and combine well. Lastly, add the vanilla and nutmeg, and voila! Eggnog's done! Chill for 3+ hours until it is very cold.

I still haven't finished the amount I made from 3 days ago, so I will guess that this makes about 5 servings.

Enjoy, Prost!

Berlin, Berlin

2011-11-30T10:00:00.000+01:00

Mauerpark was not the only reason to be in Berlin on Sunday. My friend Hazel and I met up with a studio who had their mid-semester critique in the city so we could get group tickets with them (paying 6 euro is way better than paying 35!). Hazel and I got to explore the city while they took care of their presentations, and we happened to stumble upon some great sites on our way to Mauerpark.

I'm kind of obsessed. I need this for Christmas.

Berlin Wall Memorial

Where the flood-lights used to be.

A pretty gift.

Bits and pieces.

Tributes to the fallen.

Wall Art.

I had a hard time deciding whether to smile in this picture or not.

The view from the Western side.

A tribute to the reunion of families after the Wall came down.

A simple little church, built on top of the ruins of a church pre-Berlin Wall.

An interesting viewing tower.

After the presentations we all met up for some amazing Tibetan food (the perfect merger of Indian and Thai, it was heavenly).

I hope you all enjoyed yourself this holiday weekend!

Prost!

Mauerpark Floh Markt

2011-11-29T10:37:00.001+01:00

Although I did make a big fuss about Christmas Markets, I have to contradict myself to say that the Mauerpark Floh Markt (Wall-park Flea Market) is my favorite place on earth, so far anyway. It combines the best flea markets, thrift stores, and handmade shops I've ever been to into 1 magical place. Yes, it can be crowded, and no, I won't spend 50 euro on a pair of vintage boots, but there's just something about it that enchants me.

I was so excited to go Sunday, just to be able to get out of Dessau for the day. It was my second time, but this time I came prepared with a little more cash. The first time I went I had no idea the treasures I would see and came up a little short after buying a bicycle from some sketch Turkish guys in front of the market.

Here's a collection of pictures from my first two trips to Mauerpark. It's love, folks!

I can't wait to send home some fancy gifts I picked up.

Prost!

Dessau Christmas Market

2011-11-26T21:43:00.000+01:00

Finally, Christmas time is upon us. And let's just say Germany really knows how to celebrate it. Last night I went to my first Christmas market here in Dessau, and I loved it. Granted, it's not even close to the biggest and best of Germany, but that only makes me more excited to visit others around Germany. This weekend I hope to see some in Berlin, and next weekend, the world-famous Christmas markets of Dresden!

Okay, prepare yourself for some extreme Christmas time joy. I can't wait to share all the festivities with you!

Eeeep!

Prost!

Thanksgiving in Germany

2011-11-25T21:00:00.000+01:00

It was really hard being away from my family this Thanksgiving. I've never missed one; even last year when I was working 30+ hours a week in a town 4 hours away, I still did a 1 day road trip there and back in order to make it back for Black Friday. And this year my older sister cooked and hosted for the first time (Congrats Crystal!).

However, I have to mention that one of the biggest things I'm thankful for this year is the amazing study abroad family I have here in Germany. The Americans decided to gather at our friends Chelsea and Tobi's apartment to celebrate (along with 2 Macedonians and a couple other Germans sprinkled in). My favorite thing ever was during the toast, when we went around the table and each said something we were thankful for this year. We pretty much all made a point to say we were thankful for each other (with a few mentioning the mountains of food), and it was hard not to tear up. I'm so glad to have made such good friends in such a short amount of time, and it's going to be hard leaving them in March!

Unfortunately there wasn't enough room to bring my roommates along, so I'll have to plan to bake or cook something special for them next week to tell them how thankful I am to have them, too. They've made this whole study abroad experience really special for me.

I hope you all had a fantastic and warm Thanksgiving full of family and love. I'm sending mine from Germany.

Prost!

Enchiladas

2011-11-23T23:32:00.000+01:00

Last week we had sushi night, but this week it was enchiladas' turn to shine! If it seems like we are quite the international household, well, you're right. We love our ethnic food, and we love it good (just so Angie knows, I am using "good" in an incorrect way, hehe).

The best compliment to the chef? Asking to eat the scraps out of the pan. Of course you may, Axel!

I love when I have the opportunity to make Mexican food for my roomies. Although I wouldn't say I'm a master by any means, I love being able to share food I grew up with people who have rarely or never had it before. It's like sharing a piece of my home with them. Cuban food is next!

Want to make your own enchiladas? This is how I did it (and it's way easier than you might think).

Enchiladas (in Germany), serves 5

Ingredients

11 tortillas (it's what fit in the pan)

Cheese, for inside and on top (chedder preferred, gouda used since chedder doesn't exist in Germany)

Chicken, 1 breast per person

Cumin, Chile Powder, Garlic Powder, Salt

1 Onion and Jalapenos, chopped, extra for garnish

1 jar Mexico Sauce

1 jar Chile Sauce

1. Rub the chicken with preferred spices; I used an even blend of cumin and garlic powder, then a dash of chili pepper for spice, and a dash of salt.

2. Boil a pot of water and submerge the chicken for 10-15 minutes, or until cooked through.

3. In the meantime, chop onion and jalapeno, and saute them in a pan. Careful not to burn them, my roommates and I learned the hard way that jalapeno smoke makes you cough for 20 straight minutes and burns the eyes pretty badly. Set aside when done.

4. I threw the chicken in the same pan for a couple minutes per piece, just to crisp up the outside, but this is optional. Then I had my trusty side kick Angie shread the chicken pieces with 2 forks.

5. Fill each tortilla with chicken, cheese, and a little of the veggie mixture. Then roll and place the edge side down in the pan (or casserole dish, but we were without).

6. If you have enchilada sauce, it's time to pour it on top! We didn't have that, so I mixed two mystery sauces, "Mexico Sauce" and "Chili Sauce" from the very small ethnic food section at Kaufland.

7. Sprinkle cheese on top, and be generous, it's the best part. Then add decoration, such as more jalapenos!

8. Lastly, bake at 175 C for 20 minutes and you've got yourself a damn good meal. Serve with Halleroder beers! Unless you have Corona at your local grocery store... then go with that.

Prost!

Say Yes to the Dress, Chelsea!

2011-11-21T11:47:00.000+01:00

Imagine 5 Cal Poly exchange students, wandering around Dessau, Gemany like lost puppies, abandoned with nowhere to go. Then imagine a tall, friendly, bilingual German by the name of Tobi coming to our rescue, translating documents, giving us information, and giving us beer when we desperately needed it.
Now, imagine our delight when we met his adorable fiance Chelsea, who's from Kentucky. Imagine us quickly befriending them both and spending nights eating good food, watching German reality shows, and dancing in the living room.

Does your brain hurt from all the imagining?

Ok, just one more: Imagine my excitement when I was invited to go wedding dress shopping with her! Unfortunately, the wedding is a mere two weeks after I will have left Germany in March, but I was so happy to share this special part of the wedding planning with her.

None of these images show the real dress she picked to protect it from Tobi's eyes!

Prost, Chelsea and Tobi!

May your love and happiness last forever!

Sushi Night

2011-11-18T22:09:00.000+01:00

I've made homemade sushi before. Before last night, I thought I'd done my fair share of sushi rodeos. Turns out, I've never even stepped in the corral. Forgive my awful cowboy metaphor, the cowboys that I know don't even care for raw fish.

The point here is: my roommate Angie schooled me! But boy I was glad she did, because now I have the real know-how (and a full belly) and intend on proving it when I'm back in the states. I documented the night to share with you here!*

*My photos turned out horrible! So since they were giving me blurry and grainy, I edited as if they were from a disposable camera. So retro!**
** Does asterisking a comment and then following up right after defeat the purpose? Oh well, this is my blog! I do what I want!

Only half of the rice we made!

Angie hand-defrosting each shrimp?

Garrett, skilled with a knife beyond all belief.

Yummy ingredients.

Getting down to business.

The cuteness that is Anja.

The cuteness that is Cindy (visiting from London!)

This needs no explanation.

My custom roll by Anja, with a side of sparkling red wine.

The epic table.

Guten appetit!

Prost!

A Simple Afternoon

2011-11-16T15:37:00.000+01:00

new paint job.

german.

strange happenings while boiling eggs.

delicious egg salad.

served with a plum.

I love a simple afternoon where I can take it slow. However, today was not one of them. I had a skype date with my fraternity brothers at 6am and even though the early morning was painful, I've never been happier to see those 30 (approximately) smiling faces! I loved being able to catch up for the first time in months, laugh with my little brothers, and meet the darling new pledges. It set a good tone for my long day of midterm architecture crit reviews.

Time for a little more homework (and maybe a nap?), and then off to another class.

Prost!

A German Lesson: Eisbären

2011-11-14T21:34:00.000+01:00

The clubs here in Dessau play ridiculous/awesome pop music. To put it in perspective for an American, imagine a club that only plays "The Safety Dance". And I wouldn't be surprised if a German club here played that song...

So now, I present my new favorite song and current German lesson (repetition helps the steep learning curve).

Wir sind die Könige auf den ewigen Eis. (oooohooohoooo)
Lieben die Kälte und mögen es heiß. ( oooohooohoooo)
Unser Thron wird niemals untergehen. ( oooohooohoooo)
Niemals!,weil wir hinter euch steheeeeeeen.

Hey, wir wollen die Eisbären sehen ( oooohooohoooo)
Hey, wir wollen die Eisbären sehen ( oooohooohoooo)
Denn unser Leben wäre so leer ohne Bären.
Wir haben die Eisbär'n so gern.
Wir haben die Eisbär'n so gern.

Wir Sind so wild auf den ewigen Eis. (oooohooohoooo)
Und jeder denkt was jeder hier weiß. (oooohooohoooo)
So bärenstark und voll Energie. (oooohooohoooo)
Wir sind so stark so stark so stark wie noch nie.

Hey, wir wollen die Eisbären sehen ( oooohooohoooo)
Hey, wir wollen die Eisbären sehen ( oooohooohoooo)
Denn unser Leben wäre so leer ohne Bären.
Wir haben die Eisbären so gern.
Wir haben die Eisbären so gern.

English:

We are the kings of the eternal ice. (oooohooohoooo)
Love the cold and like it hot. (oooohooohoooo)
Our throne will never perish. (oooohooohoooo)
Never! because we staaaaand behind you.

Hey, we want to see the polar bears (oooohooohoooo)
Hey, we want to see the polar bears (oooohooohoooo)
After all, our life would be so empty without bears.
We have the Eisbär'n so much.
We have the Eisbär'n so much.

We are so wild on the eternal ice. (oooohooohoooo)
And everyone thinks what everyone here knows. (oooohooohoooo)
Sun husky and full of energy. (oooohooohoooo)
We're as strong as strong as strong as ever.

Hey, we want to see the polar bears (oooohooohoooo)
Hey, we want to see the polar bears (oooohooohoooo)
After all, our life would be so empty without bears.
We have the polar bears so much.
We have the polar bears so much.

That concludes our lesson. Now everybody look at your hands!

Prost!

The Digs

2011-11-13T21:39:00.000+01:00

Some of you (hey Mom!) wanted to see what my room looks like here in Dessau. It's not much, given I'm only here one semester, but I'd love to invite you over. Come on in!

Prost!

The Truth about Architecture Students

2011-11-12T10:10:00.000+01:00

This literally made me laugh out loud, considering I've been in almost all of these situations.

Long live architorture.

Thank you, life-of-an-architecture-student tumblr.

Comfort Soup

2011-11-11T19:44:00.000+01:00

Soup is the best.

Even when you don't have the right ingredients, but you're really craving it, so you just fake it anyway. It's still always good. Fahhget about it.

Zuppa Toscana Soup

(the "wing-it" version)

Ingredients:

1 rostbratwurst

3 small potatoes

1 head mystery green vegetable (cabbage? kale?)

light cream, when you buy instead of heavy cream on accident

water

olive oil

1/2 of an onion

2 cloves garlic

First, cut up the bratwurst, onion, and garlic into small pieces. Then cook in olive oil in a frying pan for 5 minutes, until browned. Add spices if desired (I wish I would have added more crushed red pepper for a big kick!). Remove from heat and set aside.

Meanwhile, cut the potatoes into bite sized pieces, then boil in a conservative amount of water (just enough to cover the pieces). Boil until soft, about 15 minutes.

Add the cream to the water/potato mixture until the desired consistency is reached. I like it somewhere between thin and thick, but some water can be drained and cream added to play with this ratio.

Cup up the mystery green vegetable (kale preferred) and add it, along with the sausage/onion/garlic, to the pot.

Let it heat through completely, and voila! You've got a German Olive Garden wannabe. I served mine with grated cheese on top and a grilled cheese on the side (for premium dipping, of course), all over an array of afternoon studio sketches.

Prost!

Nails: mint + floral

2011-11-10T12:07:00.000+01:00

Experimenting with color and pattern is a great way to keep inspired on those gloomy, foggy afternoons. Recently I went to a kitschy 1960's themed bar called Flower Power, and decided it was completely necessary to decorate my nails for the occasion. I've been a huge fan of Sally Hansen's salon effects strips since I tried them for the first time last spring. Luckily, I brought a pack of strips in Girl Flower over from the states.

However, once the night came and went, I felt the bold pattern was a little too bright for the rest of my winter wardrobe, so I gave them a little make-over! Using tape, I covered the cuticle-section of my nails and painted over the strips with a minty green color from Forever 21.

That day in my classes I was getting lots of complements on my "reverse french manicure". Give it a try, and don't be afraid to mix.

Prost!

Cranberry Delight

2011-11-09T16:56:00.000+01:00

I've definitely been on a cranberry kick as of late and no matter how many I have, in many different forms, I can't seem to get it out of my system. I kind of like it.

This past weekend I made cranberry scones (one piece shown above) using a recipe from Food Coma, and per Emma's suggestion I made a simple glaze by combining powdered sugar and milk until it was the consistency I wanted. Simply perfect. This particular morning I thought I'd pair my cranberry scone with some Cranberry-Vanilla Special K. Is this cereal back in America? Because if not I may stuff a few dozen boxes in my suitcase.

Here's some other cranberry inspired things I love:

Silky Red Tie Neck Blouse / kakalina rose vintage

The Camper Satchel / Sketchbook

Pretty Nails / steffels.blogspot

Wood Glasses / Kurt Wadefield

Rowboat Cardigan / Madewell

Thierry Oxford Heels / Ruche

Mmm...

Prost!

Meko/Dawanda Love

2011-11-05T17:03:00.000+01:00

New fall/winter staple! I just received my handmade meko granny scarf in the mail and I'm completely in love. Super warm, super cute... wunderbar! It's been pretty cold in the mornings and evenings.. and well, usually the afternoons too, so this little baby will be my best friend on those long, long (5 minutes) bike rides to school.

I'm really pleased with the quality of the product and ease of the payment/shipping process. I found them through my roommate, who has one too but in a darker color scheme. Annnd, to top off the whole enchilada, I bought it through a site like etsy, called dawanda. I actually think it's a little superior to etsy in terms of package tracking and useability.. and it's German!

Hooray for handmade!

Prost!

Excursion: Edersee, Germany

2011-11-04T23:39:00.000+01:00

I thought I'd share a little about my most recent excursion and where also happens to be the site of my architecture project this semester: Eder Dam!

This place is full of beauty and history and the mountains really made me feel at home (although I'm not technically from the mountains, I hope to be a mountain resident someday). However, the night-life here is pretty much non-existent, or afternoon-life for that matter. Once the clock hit three in the afternoon, the place was deserted. But it was nice to bond with my studio classmates over late night games of Werewolf (similar to Mafia) and ouzo from the local Greek restaurant.

To start, I'll give a little background on Eder Dam. In the 1930's, this area consisted of sporadic small villages and a well-known oven-factory. Yes, a factory that produced ovens (the things we take for granted..). In WWII, this dam as well as two others in the area were marked as hit spots in order to destroy German industry. It was hit by the British on May 17, 1943.

From the American movie "The Dam Busters" (1955)

At the time, Nazis forbid anyone to take photographs or video footage of war destruction in fear that German population would know they were losing the war, but some were taken in secret and not released for 30 years! One particular story involved a local man making a deal with a video-camera mechanic, to not release the personal footage until he passed away.

The foundations of houses destroyed during the dam break

A village graveyard washed up from the floods

The dam break was devastating for the surrounding villages, and many homes and shops were destroyed. Those families that survived were forced to relocate to higher ground or away from the area completely, although there was no news of this tragedy among German media.

The area with no set of lower tunnels was where the dam was bombed and reconstructed.

My class was lucky enough to get a tour inside the dam from local water authorities. And damn (pun intended), it was freaking cold in there. Don't let the sunny pictures fool you, it was around 5 degrees Celsius (around 40 F to my fellow Americans) and inside the dam was at least 10 degrees (F) colder from the water and whole no-natural-sunlight thing.

Anyway, learning all this history from locals themselves really spooked me, considering all their families have been through. They had to live with the consequences of the bombing in complete anonymity.

However, despite the creepy history, this place is crazy beautiful.

This is the site for my project: a topographically challenging hillside, where I'll be designing a museum to commemorate the area's rich history as well as celebrate the energy-creating power of dams. Director Peter Jackson is said to be currently working on a remake of the 1955 film Dam Busters, and this museum in part with that could potentially open up international interest in this forgotten area that received so little attention in its time of devastation. Can't wait to show progress along the way this semester!

Prost!

Vintage Views: Autumn Air

2011-11-03T13:23:00.000+01:00

I have to admit I'm still just getting in the swing of things in terms of blogging. Luckily I have a great repertoire of blog-spiration to learn from since I follow so many on a daily basis. I want to get into the habit of having some features that I can fall back on and use for inspiration. This one in particular I will call "Vintage Views", a place where I will post vintage photographs that are inspiring me at the moment. This week's topic: Autumn!

Here in Germany, no one sweeps up leaves. Really, no one. They sit on the sidewalk for weeks and weeks until they basically rot away or become one with the sidewalk. Some days it's hard to tell where the sidewalk ends and the street begins, which can be a little dangerous for bike riding, but beautiful none the less. Even though the frigid mornings and nights are not what I'm used to, I've never had such a beautiful autumn back in California. It's truly breathtaking.

1955

1959

1960

1961

1965

1970

1976

All photos found here, site via Miss Moss

Prost!

Busy, busy!

2011-11-01T21:25:00.000+01:00

Today was jam-packed, full of trips to the visa office and bank, several group meetings for different classes, and late night classes and research.

In good news, I get internet in my flat on Friday, and my group just decided we're going to harness heat-waste from a power plant to brew beer for our Energy Organism. How totally awesome is that?

On a last and random note: Why didn't I think of this Halloween costume first, as a self-proclaimed Wes Anderson expert/enthusiast? I love it!

Found here.

Prost!

All Hallow's Eve

2011-10-31T14:15:00.000+01:00

I love Halloween. I really, really do.

Last night some fellow architecture students threw a party in an abandoned-warehouse-turned-metal-bar. Surprisingly the bike ride TO the warehouse was scarier than the place itself -- think pitch blackness, broken bike lights, and pot-hole ridden cobblestone roads. I had a blast dancing to strange 80's electro-pop that used the phrase "you're bleeding too much", drinking vodka-Fantas (oh Europeans and your love for Fanta...), and watching costume "performance pieces" (thank you Macedonian boys).

However, when the live black metal band started to play, I took that as my cue to leave.

My roommates come home tonight from their respective weekends away and I can't wait to share the banana bread I made this weekend and hopefully coerce them into watching Disturbia with me, for a lack of having a better Halloween movie that's in English. Also in celebration this week, I hope to make this traditional Irish dish.

Until next year, Halloween! I'll be anxiously waiting for you!

Prost!

Bike Skillz

2011-10-29T23:00:00.000+02:00

It was only a couple weeks ago that I found my new riding companion, and it wasn't easy. Dessau is too small to find cheap bikes, so the other Americans and I took a little trip to Mauerpark Floh Markt (Wall-Park Flea Market) to find some! We were lucky enough to all come home with sweet road beauties. We've been riding dirty ever since.

Meanwhile, I've been practicing my bike moves! So far, I'm on "The One-Hander". I'll get better... I hope.

Video found via Freckled Nest

Prost!

Beginnings

2011-10-28T14:08:00.000+02:00

Hi, I'm Kate, an American exchange student studying architecture in Germany along with 4 other American friends.

I'm finally starting this blog after living in Dessau for nearly 2 months. I started this little place on the interwebs to share my experiences of living in a foreign country, the things I'm learning in the Masters of Architecture Program at DIA, and some fun crafts, recipes, fashion and life stories along the way. Let's just call this blog all-inclusive!

Why "Dessau, Ni Hao"? It represents the confusion I often feel living in a country that doesn't speak my language! I am currently living with two delightful German students, and upon our first meeting, one of my roommates brought his girlfriend along. She was baffled at the way I pronounced Dessau, the town I will be living in for 6 months. I pronounce it "de-sSAU", while the Germans pronounce it "DE-ssau". Confused? I was; it sounds the same to me! But apparently she thought I sounded as if I have a Chinese accent. And accents here in Germany have a different stigma than in America. In the US I can often understand the heaviest of accents, but in Germany, the slightest variation is unrecognizable, at least in my experiences. Perhaps my German is just worse than I thought!

Therefore I bring you, "Dessau, Hello!", or "Dessau, Ni Hao!".

What a trip it has been so far. But I've loved every minute of it none the less.

Prost (Cheers)!