Where am I supposed to ride this again?

Gotta love superfluous English. Although at least the 'outdoor' on my new bike makes a little more sense than the 'street racer' written in big letters on my skis. (Or could it be that I've been using my skis in the completely wrong environment all these years?)

Not unlike skiing, I learned to ride a bike too late in life to be very good at it. But cycling seems to be such a fun and convenient way to get around in Munich that I figured I might as well give it a try - while investing as little money as possible in the actual bike in case I only end up using it once. Nice bikes supposedly get stolen quite regularly in Munich, so I'm probably better off with my no-name 'outdoor' bike, anyway. Now to figure out the rules of the bike path...

Garden update: Felice the pepper

OK, I know, this is one of those posts that will only be interesting to me and perhaps a couple other crazy vegetable garden enthusiasts. But.... I'm so proud of my pepper I can't help but share. We've named it Felice (Italian for 'happy'). Isn't he handsome? :)

At 5 centimeters high, he's by far the largest veggie we've got going on, but all the other plants are coming along nicely. The zucchini plants are humongous, spreading leaves well beyond the boundaries of their respective pots. I'm worried we'll wake up one day and find out they've devised a plan to conquer the world. They're sporting several buds, but nothing blooming yet.

The tomato plants are all flowering, and we have several clusters of strawberries in progress. Everything I planted from seeds has sprouted, so well that I'm going to have to reluctantly thin some of them out so everyone has room to grow big and strong and delicious. I can't wait to start eating out of the garden! Although, truth be told, I've become so attached to Felice that the thought of eating him is starting to feel a little... wrong. What, does that make me crazy? See, this wouldn't be happening if I was allowed to have a cat.

Milk strike!

German milk producers are preparing to go on strike. Moo.

Eurovision 2008

We had a little party for the Eurovision finale again this year. At least half the guests came reluctantly... either not having heard of Eurovision at all, or wondering why in the world I'd want to throw a party for such a ridiculous event. But everyone had fun whether they liked it or not, even though Germany's entry embarrassed themselves with a horrible performance which left them tied for last place.

It amuses me how popular the Eurovision Song Contest is among other expat bloggers, as well. Adam publishes his list of favorites yearly. Beth did some live blogging not only for the finale, but for the semi-finals, too. Hard core. Snooker's heart was stolen by the pirates. Brian is not so convinced he loves Eurovision, but blogs about it all the same. There's always some scandal or other involved, such as this year's English-language entry for France (as noted by Mark).

Despite my feverish voting for Azerbaijan, the winner was Russia' s Dima Bilan, with this performance featuring a Stradivarius violin and an Olympic skater. What's not to love?

Chocolate chips for expats

As ubiquitous as they are in the US, chocolate chips are practically unheard-of in the rest of the world's supermarkets. Sometimes the clever expat must improvise:

1. Unwrap a bunch of dark chocolate bars (extra bonus step - freeze them first)
2. put them in a ziplock bag and seal it
3. break up the chocolate in the manner of your choosing (drop the bag on the floor several times, take a wooden mallet to it, etc. etc. Be creative!)

This little tip isn't new... in fact American expats have been making their own chocolate chips using this method for decades, if not centuries. But when a fresh-off-the-boat gal from Florida asked me about chocolate chips the other day, it reminded me that not everyone knows this ancient expat secret.

Here's a little bonus tip: in place of brown sugar, use white sugar plus a tablespoon or so of molasses. Now go forth and make cookies to dazzle your host countrymen!

Bonus tip #2: don't even think of using those vanilla-flavored sugar packets sold in Germany as a substitute for vanilla extract. In my experience, real vanilla extract is one of the very few food items still worth smuggling over from the US. Unless you live in Zurich and can buy it at El Maiz, that is. If someone has a source in Munich that isn't absurdly expensive, please share!

I made these cookies for our Eurovision party tomorrow night. I can hardly wait! I think so far Azerbaijan is my favorite, but I haven't finished watching part two of the semifinals yet. How can you not love this act?

Quick, name a "short, stumpy banger loved by the Swiss"

You'll find the answer (well, one possible answer) in this article about the dire shortages faced in Switzerland in the lead-up to the Euro 2008 (soccer championships).

Article found via A Swiss Story.

It's time to play Name That Obscure German Holiday

Anyone have a guess at what today is? That's right: Fronleichnam*! It just sounds fun, doesn't it? You know you've plumbed the depths of obscurity when even the Italians haven't heard of your Catholic excuse for a day off of work. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. I think all countries could benefit from the addition of more obscure holidays, especially when those holidays mean days off of work.

These holidays keep sneaking up on us when we least expect them. Time to enter all the German holidays into my Outlook calendar so we can start making the most of our time off.

*That's Corpus Christi in English. I didn't bother to read the whole Wikipedia article, but it sounds like yet another day dedicated to the Catholic obsession with dead bodies. Now get celebrating!

Italy trip highlights: Sleeping in Tuscany

Scott was responsible for finding us places to sleep in Tuscany, and he did a fabulous job.
For two nights we stayed at Hotel Il Rondo', a gorgeous bed and breakfast in Montepulciano. Rarely have I stayed in a room so beautifully done. The ceilings had large square wooden beams as is typical in Tuscany, and many of the furnishings were antiques. Plus since the building is quite new, the facilities are modern, and there was even wireless internet access (which allowed me to easily do some blogging from the road).



In Siena we spent one night at the Chiostro del Carmine. The reception desk faces a gorgeous, secluded, quiet courtyard where I enjoyed relaxing for a few minutes. Our room was inside the old palazzo up a comically large staircase. From our room we had a sweeping view of the countryside around Sienna.



Neither of the hotels was super-luxurious, but both were clean, safe, and well-appointed. What I liked best, though, was how both of them felt like uniquely Italian accommodations. Such charming sleeping arrangements add to the overall trip experience in a lovely way. Sure beats the Holiday Inn.

Coming events in and around Munich

• The Eurovision Song Contest is coming up this Saturday, with the preliminary rounds on Tuesday and Thursday evening. If you love cheesy euro-pop, you won't want to miss it. Will the Eastern European countries continue to vote as a bloc and piss off the West, who has been voting in much smaller blocs since the contest began?

• Munich is turning 850 years old this year. To celebrate, a lot of activities are going on here this summer, including the Long Night of Music on May 31st.

• The Regensburg Expat Weekend meetup is coming up on June 21-22.

Happy birthday, Mom!

In which we find a use for our balcony

My husband and I have never been plant people. Given the frequency with which we travel (and move), plants just never seemed to be worth the effort. My attempts to grow things and keep them alive have been limited to basil plants and the odd oregano. That is, until now.


A couple weekends ago we headed to the local Praktiker to pick up some pots and dirt with the intention of growing an extended herb garden. Our new apartment has a small south-facing balcony which gets too much sun for me to ever want to sit on it, so we might as well put something else out there, we reasoned. Then we came across the little seedling plants on display. Tomatoes and peppers and zucchini, oh my! And suddenly the idea of growing my own vegetables sounded like the most awesome thing ever. We bought up a bunch of plants, a few pots, and some dirt, and headed home.

A little internet research revealed how foolish and naive we had been, expecting to fit all those plants into relatively few pots. Who knew tomatoes needed so much space per plant? Not willing to give up on our foolishly-purchased little seedlings so easily, it was back to the store for more pots and dirt. Then an afternoon of planting, and voila!, we had an adorable little balcony vegetable garden underway.

The plants are all growing well, and I couldn't be prouder of them. See that zucchini plant flowering? I did that! And what's this, some teeny tiny strawberries? That was me! OMG, is that the start of a green pepper? Growing? On my balcony? This is the coolest feeling ever. Life, I am a giver of life!

The thing is, now I'm kind of getting addicted. I need more. I came across a big display of seeds in the grocery store yesterday, and I started salivating as I gleefully picked out packets that could be planted in May. Arugula, radishes, carrots, peas, lettuce... I can grow these, too? It was all I could do to keep from jumping up and down and clapping in the store.

So today it was back to the home store for more pots. And a spade and a watering can. Oh yeah, we're getting hard-core now. The cash going into this new little passion is starting to add up, too. But the way I figure it, zucchini flowers sell for up to a euro apiece at the farmers' market; so if our three plants each produce, say, 70 flowers each, we'll have easily made our money back. And we'll be eating a whole lot of stuffed zucchini flowers this summer. Yum.

Uncounted

Last night we attended a Democrats Anonymous Abroad meeting here is Munich, where we watched and discussed the documentary Uncounted. The film explores the ways in which the outcomes have been manipulated in recent US elections, how vast quantities of people were not allowed to vote, and how vast quantities of cast votes went uncounted. It is hard to watch, deeply disturbing, and important. I encourage every American to watch this documentary. Here's the trailer:


You can order a region-free DVD from the Uncounted website by following the instructions for a special request. I also encourage Americans living overseas to register to vote from abroad. It's easy!

Europe String and Veggie Chic looking for bloggers

So I've decided to give up my professional blogs Europe String and Veggie Chic at the end of May. I've enjoyed writing for them, but I feel it's time for me to move on.

Thought I'd mention it here in case any readers are interested in taking over... b5media is looking for replacement bloggers for both blogs. Europe String is about traveling Europe on a budget, and Veggie Chic is 'all things vegetarian'. Contact me or leave a comment and I can put you in touch with the right folks.

Italy trip highlights: Eating Tuscany

After Rome, we rented a car and headed north to Niki de Saint Phalle's Tarot Garden (a definite highlight) and then continued on to Tuscany. While I'd been to Siena and Florence before, this was actually my first time out into the small hill towns of Tuscany. Now that I've had a taste, I can't wait to go back.

We spent our days exploring a series of little Tuscan hill towns, each more adorable than the last. And naturally, we ate very, very well. The regional specialties of note included pici, a thick home-made spaghetti-like pasta, and local pecorino, a cheese made from sheep's milk which seemed to be absolutely everywhere we looked (including at breakfast). It is milder than pecorino romano, and is sometimes enhanced with truffle or other flavors. I think every single thing I ate in Tuscany was delicious. The restaurant highlights:



Borgobuio (Montepulciano) - the google-translatored English menu outside had us in stitches, but since it came on a good recommendation, we decided to go inside anyway. Borgobuio's decor is fabulously over-the-top, as is its owner Pier, who provided the dinner-time entertainment. He spent time with each and every table, chatting, joking, boasting about his food and lamenting the lack of guests. I was called on from across the room to help interpret for a couple from California who spoke no Italian. Pier has every right to be proud of his food, which was just fabulous. I forgot to take notes this evening, but I remember starting with a scrumptious chick pea and broccoli appetizer and then some sort of pici. And a side of baked radicchio, I think it was. All scrumptious.

Trattoria Diva e Maceo (Montepulciano) - highlights included the tortellone con fonduta di pecorino e pepe (melted pecorino and pepper) and the pici with porcini mushrooms. Even the side dish of beet greens was delicious!

La Porta (Montecchiello) - small, cute locale serving heavenly food. Friendly staff. Polenta with melted pecorino and mushrooms, sformato di zucca (kind of like a souffle with squash and cheese), canellini al fiasco (beans with olive oil). Sooooo good.



Antica Osteria da Divo (Siena) - this place was our second choice for dinner in Siena, but unfortunately our first choice was closed for a private party that evening. Osteria da Divo was an interesting little place. Very elegant, inside a very old, grotto-like room. The food was the high-concept small-portion (a little pricey) type. It was slightly disappointing, but only because other restaurants had set the bar so high.

Man, I'm hungry.

Italy trip highlights: Eating Rome

We had no specific goals for our 1.5 days in Rome, except to eat well and relax. My last several trips to Rome were on business, so it was nice to reestablish this city as a place of leisure. There wasn't any advanced planning involved beyond the hotel. It was nice. Especially the food.

All three restaurants we ate at this time came via an old copy of Fodor's Italy. I'm usually not one to rely exclusively on guidebooks, but Fodor's did us quite well on this particular trip.

Ditirambo - near Campo dei Fiori, we were a little skeptical of this cavernous locale when we arrived to find the only other patrons were a large group of old German men. Skepticism soon gave way to marvel; my appetizer of burratina (a soft cheese sort of like mozzarella) millefoglie with sundried tomato pesto was insanely amazing. I will remember that dish for a long, long time.

Arancia Blu - the first thing that struck me was the gorgeous, cozy interior; the second was the elaborate vegetarian menu. From our experience, the tasting menu is the way to go. So many delicious flavors. It was a bit of a hike from Termini, but the neighborhood was quite vibrant with nightlife.

Margutta Vegetariano - Italian vegetarian restaurants two nights in a row! Could life get any better? Margutta seemed to be having some service problems the evening we were there, given that we overheard complaints from the tables on either side of us. Although a couple of our (many) courses took a little too long to arrive, we otherwise found the meal itself to be fabulous. Each dish on the extensive tasting menus we ordered was delicate, artful, and yummy. The chic modern decor was also quite impressive. But what I really want to know is, who spends so much time and effort on a restaurant's food and presentation, but then can't be bothered to put a seat on the freakin' toilet? Seriously, people. Despite the menacing unseated peeing arrangements and slightly slow service, our overall experience at Margutta was quite stellar.

In contrast to the guidebook-recommended restaurants, the gelato we ate was chosen purely based on my gelatodar (like gaydar, but for gelato), a skill I have honed through much practice, and which almost never fails. Subtle cues such as the colors, the signage, and the number of locals in line are all part of my elaborate system for sussing out the best gelato around.

Gelateria San Crispino - if a gelateria is so cocky as to not even pile its gelato up for display, there's a good chance that the flavor speaks for itself. The shiny covered containers at Gelateria San Crispino drew us in, and the exotic flavors got us pushing to the front of the line. Flavors like honey whisky, ginger cinnamon, and pear sorbet. Mmmmm.

Fior di Luna - here I went for my old standby gelato order: chocolate and pistachio. Pistachio is a very hit-or-miss flavor. Done well, it's heavenly; done poorly, it's not even worth my time. This is why gelatodar is so important. Fior di Luna passed the pistachio test.

name unknown - on the Isola Tiberia in the middle of the Tiber river, this gelateria looked unassuming, but offered up a solid version of my all-time favorite flavor: dark chocolate chili. Mmmm again.


Did we do anything in Rome besides eat? Yes, a little. Mostly we wandered around, soaking up the atmosphere. The Pantheon was a treat as always. And given that La Dolce Vita is one of my all-time favorite movies, a swing by the (insanely tourist-overrun) Trevi Fountain was practically predestined. We considered going into St. Peter's, but given the long line we opted for people-watching in the piazza instead (easy to do when you've been inside multiple times before). I love vacations with no obligations!

Italy trip highlights: First impressions

I better get blogging about the details of our Italy trip before I start to forget them...



Let me preface this post by saying that I know Italy well. I've spent approximately two and a half years in the country. Since moving away in 2005, I've gone back many times. But still, my perspective is ever-changing. My brain constantly compares places to each other, and the reference point keeps shifting as I move about. Things that used to be normal parts of life now strike me as odd. Take my first impressions from this most recent trip...

We flew into Rome. The airport was run-down, hot, and dirty, and it took what felt like an eternity to get our luggage. It seemed like we had arrived in a 3rd-world country. Well, 2nd world, at least. The impression did not improve as we made our way through dirty corridors with broken glass where advertisements would normally be, nor when we arrived at the airport's train station and found an abandoned, graffiti-covered old train parked on one of the two functioning tracks. Having a few minutes to kill before a real train showed up, we wandered into the bar for a coffee.

The second the dark, thick espresso touched my lips, all was forgiven. So what if Swiss airports are modern and spotless? Who cares how efficient the Munich S-Bahns are? When has any other country produced anything so delicious in the history of the world? My mood was suddenly elated, and my mouth watered as I anticipated all the other flavors to come on this trip...

Munich: random thoughts for the day #4

A couple days ago we discovered three burnt-out cars in our neighborhood. Other passersby were taking pictures, too (usually in these situations, I'm the only one with a camera out). Perhaps they were set on fire as part of the May 1st demonstrations? I wasn't here that day, and I can't seem to find any news articles that would confirm this theory.


Even Munich's airport has a beer garden. Nifty, eh?


The Swiss are at it again, selling better stuff abroad than they do at home, possibly as some sort of plot to take over the world via chocolaty goodness. Latest proof: Mövenpick Chocolate Picante ice cream, found in Munich (but never seen in Zurich).

Bayern atmet durch my ass

After suffering through the ridiculously smoky bars and restaurants of Zurich for two years, we were delighted to learn that Bavaria was planning to go smoke-free a few days before our arrival in January. Hooray for going out without coming home smelling like an ashtray!

Our initial excitement is wearing thin, though, given the number of locales which have decided to become 'smoking clubs.' A loophole in the Bavarian law allows smoking in establishments that aren't open to the public, such as members-only clubs. It seems quite easy for a place to transform itself into a private club, though - apparently all that is required is a 'membership list' which includes all of the guests present in the establishment. Enter a bar or restaurant which allows smoking, and you will be asked to provide your personal details in exchange for the privilege of staying and being smoked at. From what I've seen, nobody's taking these 'membership lists' very seriously - in fact, I don't think I've ever witnessed anyone provide their real name. A lot of restaurants are choosing to be smoke-free until about 8 or 9 PM, and then turning into a smoking club for the after-dinner crowd.

What's so bad about simply sending smokers outside, especially now that the weather is nice? One reason is the noise. Whereas in Italy (which has a very successful no-smoking law) a group of folks smoking and chatting on a street corner at midnight is no big deal, the Germans (and Swiss, for that matter) take their right to after-hours silence very seriously. Establishments are very wary of noisy customers outside that might garner complaints to the police from the neighbors.

The other night we wandered into a bar that had a 'Bayern atmet durch' ('Bavaria breathes free') poster on the door, only to find that it too had become a private smoking club, and a really stinky one at that. After we ordered our drinks, we were presented with a sheet of notebook paper to sign in order to 'join the club.' Despite the humble decor, the bar was obviously quite hip - the membership list contained everyone from Paris Hilton to Barack Obama.

Auer Dult

Who knew Munich had so many festivals without 'Oktober' in the name? Today we hit the modestly-sized Auer Dult, a festival and market which takes place three times per year at Mariahilfplatz, a big square in the neighborhood of Au. There were a couple of carnival rides and a whole lot of carnival food, and even a beer garden or two, but the main claim to fame of the Auer Dult is the large kitchenware market involved. A friend told us that it's even the largest kitchenware market in Europe. Impressed now, aren't you?

While nothing to plan a vacation around, the Auer Dult was a fun way to spend a sunny afternoon. Plus we picked up a new spatula for the low low price of two euros.



Today is the last day of the 'Spring Dult', but if you missed it this time around don't worry - the Summer Dult is right around the corner at the end of July.

Let's hear it for the queen

Just got back from a quick trip to Amsterdam to celebrate Queen's Day, an annual day of revelry, commerce, and orange-wearing all over the Netherlands. On the evening before Queen's Day, DJs and bands play on stages set up all over the city until late in the night. Then the next morning, folks get up super early to buy and sell a whole bunch of junk. Anyone is allowed to set up shop, and people reserve their selling spots (with tape or chalk) days in advance. The city looks like one big festive garage sale. The selling and the partying continue throughout the day.

Shunning sleep, my friends and I were on board for the late-night Queen's Day Eve partying as well as the crack-of-dawn crap selling. Check out our fabulous stand:


We hawked stuff from 6 AM to about noon, with all items priced to move. Our stand was set up on a main route very close to my friends' apartment. J provided us with fresh-made grilled cheese sandwiches and copious amounts of coffee to get us through the early hours. Overall our stand brought in well over 100 euros, but mostly we were in it for the fun. I contributed the decorated sleep masks, which made a cool 10 euros, as well as a particularly hideous wedding present (which will remain anonymous).

After we closed up shop, it was time to walk around and soak up some atmosphere. The whole city felt pretty crowded, although I hear it was much less so than last year. The canals were full of boats which were full of people wearing orange. I'm not sure why orange and Queen's Day go together, but I'm guessing it's the queen's favorite color. Makes sense, no?



The weather was changeable, going from sunny to windy to cloudy to sprinkles for most of the day, ending with a gloriously dramatic sunset. The photos don't begin to do it justice.