Peace One Day

I almost forgot: I added a link to this really cool website/ project called "Peace One Day". On September 21st it is International Peace Day - few people know about it, unfortunately. So check out the website and the movie (great documentary and well worth watching!) and see if there isn't something going on where you are on the 21st. (An introduction to the idea is at the very bottom of this page)...

Peace out...

Male, male, male

So... schnell noch die offzielle Einleitung für die Fotos unten. Wir haben uns getraut (ja, ha ha) ...zu malern... und zwar richtig bunt. Ich war ja eher so für den Hauch von grün/blau/rot/gelb/???, aber Patrick ist der Meinung "wenn schon, denn schon". Ein bisschen recht hat er ja, denn mit pastellgrün oder -blau kann das schnell mal in die Hose gehen und nach Kinderzimmer oder Krankenhaus aussehen. Nun ja. Der Unterschied ist sichtlich. Ich hoffe, dass wir uns daran nicht satt sehen, denn das ist nicht nur ein finanzieller, sondern auch ein zeitlicher und kräftezehrender Aufwand. Zwei Zimmer kommen noch...die werden noch kräftiger...aber ich verrate jetzt nicht mehr. Wir schaffen uns förmlich unsere eigene Villa Kunterbunt. Auch nett... so hat man für jede Stimmung ein Zimmer :)

Und sonst? Hab' dank einer Freundin ein tolles Rezept gegen diese ekligen kleinen Fruchtfliegen gefunden. Ganz einfach und umso genialer: Ihr packt einen kleinen Schluck Rotwein in eine relativ flache Schale (kann ganz klein sein) und mischt da einen Spritzer Geschirrspülmittel rein. Wirkt Wunder, ich verspreche es!

So, und jetzt geh' ich 'was lesen. Sind heute 12km in den Bergen hier (Great Smoky Mountains) gewandert und jetzt total k.o..

Mehr bunte Bilder folgen :)

If you're going to paint, man, then do it

...those are Patrick's famous words, commenting on our color selection. Yes, we have started to paint the house. The first room was painted late Friday night and after finding some yummy quiche on our doorsteps on Saturday (homemade from our neighbors a few houses down the road to welcome us to the neighborhood), we were ready to put some color on number two. Two down, two to go. Luckily, the last two rooms are relatively small (bedroom and office/guest bedroom). We took the day off from painting today and went on an 8 mile hike in the Smokies. It was beautiful - we were alone on the trail the whole time and climbing up to a waterfall along the river was just right on a hot day like today. On the way back we saw something I totally want to do now: tubing. Probably the kiddy version of white water rafting, but it still looks like lots of fun. Seems like a great thing to do in a larger group...so maybe we can get some folks together some time and be silly (might have to wait a summer, till we know some people).

Before we get to the pictures, I feel I just have to share this story that just happened: The house to our left is an older duplex that is being rented out. Apparently, everybody just moved and now the whole house is back up for rent. To our surprise, tons of people have stopped to look at it in the week the sign has been up (it's not like this is the hottest spot in town). Tonight was showing-people-around-night and so it happened that the owner came over when I watered the plants to introduce herself. May I quote from hereon: "I'm soandso and I will find you some good neighbors. Now, don't worry, I'm pretty discriminating." This was as a family of 8 Hispanics was looking at the house... need I say anything else? I almost dropped. I don't think I have been confronted with such outright racism before, especially in a tone of voice so sure of itself, so righteous and "normal". Wow...

While I let that set, here are some before-and-after pictures of the two rooms that are done. Again... the choice of colors is somewhat drastic, but be reminded of Patrick's quote here ;-) And...the other two rooms will even be more daring...I think... stay tuned!

Number one, the living room:

and number two, the dining room:

(I should add that these were taken at dawn and turned out very dark...it doesn't really look like a dungeon in the living room ;-))

Eigentlich und uneigentlich...

Eigentlich sollte ich weiter an meinem Paper arbeiten, etwas lesen, Kartons ausmisten, die Farben aussuchen, mit denen wir dann doch noch streichen wollen (jetzt, da die Möbel im Haus stehen, haben wir gemerkt, dass das beige der Verkäufer nicht so der Renner ist und wir es gern bunter hätten, damit die Wände nicht mehr wie ausgekotzt aussehen), den Geschirrspüler auspacken, Papierkram sortieren, ein Regal zusammenbauen, und und und....

Uneigentlich ist es seit gestern Abend viiiiiiieeeel spannender, mit meinem Blog zu spielen (so weit ist es schon gekommen!). Bin da auf eine Seite gestoßen, die einem alle möglichen Tricks verrät und die musste ich natürlich gleich ausprobieren... Was meint ihr? Neueste Technik macht's möglich und ihr könnt jetzt sogar abstimmen. Auch wenn ich das etwas übertrieben und leicht kitschig finde, konnte ich der Versuchung nicht widerstehen - und so könnt ihr jetzt sagen, wie Euch das neue Layout gefällt :) Toll, ne? (Ich bin ja hauptsächlich begeistert von all der Technik.)

Ihr seht, ich nutze meine Zeit sehr produktiv... (Ausgleich zur harten IKEA-Möbel-Zusammenbauen-Arbeit muss sein!)

Schönen Freitag, 13. und auf bald!

Doktoranden-Syndrom

So, nachdem ich die letzten paar Tage hier schon angefangen habe, leicht an mir und meinen Fähigkeiten zu zweifeln, bin ich durch mehrere Unterhaltungen jetzt auf ein und denselben Gedanken bei 4 verschiedenen DoktorandInnen gestoßen: "Es ist nur eine Frage der Zeit, bis die rausfinden, dass ich gar nicht so gut bin und die mich fälschlicherweise hier angenommen haben. Und dann werden sie mich bitten, zu gehen." Wortwörtlich so. Alle Befragten berichteten diese Gedanken während ihres gesamten ersten Jahres als DoktorandIn gehabt zu haben. ;-) In diesem Falle ist das für mich wissenschaftlich genug, um mein Gemüt zu erheitern. Das trübte sich gestern nämlich wieder (nachdem ich mich letzte Woche als Statistik-Vollidiot gefühlt und wieder etwas erholt hatte), als mein Prof mir einen Mini-Artikel mit Anmerkungen zurückschickte. Nicht unfreundlich, aber eben kurz, bestimmt, detailliert und ohne jegliche Schnörkel. Ich glaube, Rückmeldungen auf dem Niveau werden hier so sachlich gegeben, dass sie schon fast bedrohlich klingen (Patrick las mir die letzte Rückmeldung seines Profs vor...schlacker, schlacker). Ich dachte in meinem jugendlichen Leichtsinn "Was kann man bei 250 Worten über seine eigene Arbeit schon groß verhauen?", aber das ganze Diplomarbeitszeug reicht eben nicht mehr, sondern war bestenfalls Übung...das machen sie Dir schon gleich deutlich. Das wird ein interessantes Jahr, scheint mir...

Da geh' ich doch lieber noch ein IKEA Regal zusammenbauen... da waren wir nämlich gestern und haben die restlichen Möbel für unser neues Heim gekauft. Fotos folgen, wenn alles schön und bunt ist :)

An egg hunt at our "Fellini Kroger"

For four days now we've been trying to find eggs that don't either cost $4/dozen (though organic) or that cost $2/ dozen but where the styrofoam wrapper already leads us to assume enough about the company's environmental and food policies for us not to buy them. So we tried the co-op, but no luck for a low budget. After letting out a "we might miss our old Wild Oats" sigh, we wondered if we shouldn't call Kroger and ask if it might be possible to order free range eggs in a paper carton (like the ones we used to buy at the Green Hills Kroger in Nashville)... And just then Patrick finds this article on our new Kroger, which apparently is a known spectacle here in Knoxville. Not sure we'll ask about those "hippy" eggs, but we will try to be more welcoming of our new diverse, less...well...yuppified neighborhood without Wild Oats, Whole Foods and the like...

Achso...

...die Fotos...

1. Das Haus mit Bepflanzung (klar zu erkennen...richtig!!!!!!!!!!!????)

2. Unsere tolle Wäschespinne

3. Independence Day Feuerwerk, durch das Auge meiner tollen Kamera ;-)

Angekommen im 21. Jahrhundert

Voila! Nach einer ganzen Woche ohne Internet zu Hause (zwischen peinlich und unglaublich, wie amputiert man sich zuerst vorkommt ohne den Anschluss ans Netz), haben wir nun wieder Internet UND Telefon. Juuuuuhuuuuu. Wir sind erreichbar und können ohne große Aktionen andere erreichen...wir sind sozusagen wieder mit dem 21. Jahrhundert verbunden. Das ist doch was!

Seit gestern bekommen wir auch wieder Post, die wir in den letzten Tagen stark vermisst haben. Keine Rechnung, keine Werbung, kein nichts. Das kam uns komisch vor und nachdem wir im lokalen Postamt anfragten, stellte sich heraus, dass der Briefträger uns boykottierte weil ihm unser Briefkasten an dem Ort (sprich am Haus) nicht gefiel. Er hätte nämlich den Kasten gern an der Straße, damit er die Briefkästen aus dem Auto bestücken kann. Doof ist nur, dass das (a) niemand in unserer Straße hat und er damit eh für alle anderen aussteigen und laufen muss und (b) der Briefkasten selbst gekauft und einbetoniert werden muss. Nö. Muss nicht sein. Zumal der Boden hier mittlerweile so trocken ist, dass Wasser an einigen Stellen Stunden braucht um einzusickern. Also haben wir ihm erklärt, dass wir gern unsere Post hätten, Briefkasten an der Straße oder nicht. Hallo!??!?
Jetzt wird sich zeigen, ob nun all unsere Post langsam nachsickert, denn das ein oder andere vermissen wir noch...

Haus-mässig haben wir fleissig den Baumarkt beschnüffelt und bereichert, Kisten ausgepackt, eingeräumt, sauber gemacht...das ganze Programm. Jetzt sind wir so gut wie ausgepackt, haben die ersten Blumen gepflanzt (siehe Foto) und eine Wäschespinne aufgestellt (statt Trockner... womit wir nach meinen Schätzungen zu den vielleicht 2.5% Amerikanern gehören, die keinen Trockner haben). Am Dienstag pilgern wir mal wieder unsere 4 Stunden zu IKEA nach Atlanta - das ist alles in allem zwar nicht umweltschonender, aber eben preiswerter und schöner als alles, was man hier so kriegt. Danach sollte das Kapitel Einzug dann aber wirklich beendet sein....!?

Ein bisschen Zeit für Knoxville haben wir auch schon gehabt, vor allem am großen 4.Juli (da gab's ein tolles Feuerwerk...genau dort, wo [man höre und staune] 1982 die Expo HIER IN KNOXVILLE stattgefunden hat!!!). Nach den ersten Tagen überkam mich dann ein Gedanke, den ich mir in der Vergangenheit selbst nie zugetraut hätte: Ich vermisse Nashville. Ihr werdet lachen, aber Nashville ist dem Knoxville, das ich bisher gesehen habe, echt einen guten Schritt voraus. Liegt sicher auch daran, dass wir von unserem Viertel mit viel Grün und guter Infrastruktur (Post, Bibliothek, Supermarkt, Biosupermarkt, Cafes, Bars, Yogastudios, Unis, Schulen, ....) verwöhnt waren. Nicht, dass wir hier fernab allen Lebens wohnen, aber es ist sichtlich ein Unterschied. Alles streut sich weiter aus, ist kleiner und provinzieller oder gar nicht existent. ABER: Unser Heim ist viel größer und schöner und wir fühlen uns darin definitiv wohler als zuvor. Und mit der Zeit wird uns sicher auch Knoxville ans Herz wachsen, auf seine eigene Art..!?

Die ersten paar Stunden an der Uni habe ich auch schon zugebracht. Gleich am ersten Tag hat das ein kleines Gefühlschaos verursacht, da ich urplötzlich meine Diplomarbeit im Detail beschreiben sollte, was dann gleich in tiefste Statistik absackte (und mich die absolute Sattelfestigkeit meines noch sehr jungen Profs echt im Vergleich zu meinem Wald-und-Wiesenwissen gegruselt hat)....mit dem Ergebnis, dass ich nach nur 2 Jahren Pause nicht das Gefühl hatte, fast 6 Jahre studiert zu haben und demnach auch nicht reif für diesen nächsten Schritt zu sein. Ja, ja, das selbstschädigende Denken: "Ich müsste und sollte das alles noch locker können", "Ich verschwende mit diesem Wissensstand ja nur jedermanns Zeit", etc etc.. Mittlerweile hab' ich mich da wieder etwas beruhigt, weil nach 2 Jahren Pause die Maschinen eben wieder geölt werden müssen. Punkt. Und weil auch hier Statistik für alle ein Kampf ist (selbst mein Prof meinte heute es gäbe nicht sowas wie ein gutes Statistikbuch... weil Statistik für die meisten unverständlich und die Logik schwer erklärbar sei....man müsse das Beste allen Übels wählen und selbst dann bräuche man sicher einen zweiten Lesedurchgang, eh es komplett klick mache) und weil ich genau um es zu lernen ja nochmal Seminare dazu belege. Schön nochmal alles von vorne neu aufwärmen, alte Synapsen neu ölen und auf andere Sichtweisen und neue Einsichten hoffen. Und wissen, dass sehr viel mehr Anwendung kommen wird und dass Übung (und Wiederholung) eben doch den Meister macht. Auch in Statistik. Jaaa.....schon viel besser :)

Ganz beruhigt werde ich jetzt auch mal ins Bett gehen... Ab jetzt gibt's wieder häufigere Berichte, versprochen! Macht's gut...

Knoxville

Nach langer Reise und einem relativ frustrierenden Tag in Nashville (wir haben versucht, Telefon und Internet, die alle über einen Anbieter laufen, im Laden zu bestellen...wo uns aber nur Angestellte an die hotline verwiesen haben... korrekt, wir sollten bei einer hotline anrufen um eine Telefonleitung in Auftrag zu geben!!!) sind wir gestern abend gut in unserer neuen Heimat Knoxville angekommen. Das Haus steht noch und bis auf einen verbrannten Rasen scheint es keine weiteren Probleme gegeben zu haben. Unsere neue Nachbarin gleich nebenan haben wir auch noch getroffen... eine Dame mittleren Alters, Mutter 3er Kinder, nach Scheidung alleinstehend mit (großem!) Hund. Sie arbeitet als Kindergärtnerin ein paar Straßen weiter und hat uns schon verraten, dass sie gerne kocht und am liebsten gleich heute für uns Lasagne kochen wollte :) Sie schien wirklich sehr nett und wir sind bsher sehr froh über die Nachbarn, die wir getroffen haben (das ist ja mitunter nicht unwichtig, ob man sich da riechen kann, wie wir alle wissen).

Heute haben wir den Auspackmarathon, Teil II gestartet und mussten uns mit unserem Jetlag wirklich bei Laune halten, nicht einfach im Angesicht des ganzen Chaos alles auf später zu verschieben. Im Moment scheint es, als würden wir bis zum "Jetzt ist's schön und wohnlich" Gefühl noch Ewigkeiten brauchen, aber das wird schon. So ein Umzug ist doch eben immer ein ganz schönes Theater....hoffentlich müssen wir das so schnell nicht wieder mitmachen.
In Knoxville haben wir uns auch ein bisschen umgeguckt...ziemlich tot im Moment (hoffentlich nur, weil es heiß ist und alle Studenten in den Semesterferien sind). So richtig toll finde ich die Stadt nach wie vor nicht, aber das ist nach 2 Tagen sicher auch ein vorschnelles Urteil.

Unimässig hab' ich jetzt den ersten kleinen Arbeitsauftrag... soll meine Diplomarbeit als Konferenzbeitrag einreichen. Nichts, womit man sich einen Zacken aus der Krone bricht, aber es wird eben ernst(er) ;-)

Das ist so ziemlich alles für den Moment. Wir werden jetzt aus dem Kühltruhencafe (die Amis übertreiben ja mal ganz gern mit ihren Klimaanlagen...je wärmer es draußen ist, desto kälter muss es aus irgendeinem Grund drinnen sein) raus und zum Abendbort nach Hause fahren. Melde mich wieder, sobald es Internet zu Hause oder bahnbrechende Neuigkeiten gibt. Ahoi...

Back in Reykjavik

We're back in Reykjavik now after two smooth flights and a somewhat scary morning. We woke up at my friend Zara's house in the middle of London when we heard about the news of the bomb that was meant to go off last night really close by. For a moment we didn't know if we should take the tube, if all of London was shut down, if and how we would get to the airport, how safe it all was, etc.. Luckily, things turned out to be okay... We took the tube to Heathrow and it was a smooth trip all the way. Much better than last time when we took the tube with our luggage during rush hour. Patrick still calls me a public health hazard with my mega backpack that can knock over three people in one turn. :-(
Regardless, we made it okay with plenty of time left before our flight. Heathrow is crowded as can be and security is tight, with police guys walkig around armed to their teeth with machine guns, bullet-proof vests, handguns and whatnots. Not a very soothing sight, especially after this morning's news. The Londoners, however, seemed amazingly cool about the whole deal, going about their regular business without much ado. Impressive, in many ways.
That's about all for now. I should go walk around a bit before bording - we can sit enough once we're on the plane. We will talk to everyone soon, in one way or the other...

Time to say good-bye

It's a rainy, cooler day in Berlin and the weather somehow goes with the mood. We're getting ready to leave Germany tonight to go back to London for a day, from where we're leaving to Reykjavik, then New York and finally Nashville tomorrow. It is not that we aren't ready to go home, but it is strange to leave the place that is also home for an indefinite period of time. It is especially hard on my parents to see us go. And it isn't easy for us either to leave family and good friends behind again. I leave with trepidations, I admit, returning to an exciting, but unfamiliar place in mine and Patrick's life. I guess having left Nashville and now leaving Germany, two familiar places with friends, family and memories attached to them, makes what is to come seem even more like a turning point in our lives. Interestingly, the "daily om" (see bottom right of blog) today talked about pushing ourselves to wander across new territory, despite initial feelings of discomfort, uncertainty or even anxiety. I especially liked the folowing part: "temporary discomfort is a small price to pay for the evolution of our soul". I don't know if it's adequate, but it hit me nevertheless.

All the ruminating aside, we're excited to return and we are scheduled to do so around midnight on Friday. We'll probably stay in Nashville just long enough to run some errands and then take off to Knoxville either Saturday or Sunday. We'll be in touch with new contact information, etc..

Time to go... until soon...

Aufbruchsstimmung

Es regnet gerade hier in Hönow und ich habe soeben den Versuch eines Mittagsschläfchens aufgegeben... bin wohl doch zu aufgeregt zum Schlafen. Heute abend geht es schon wieder los, erst nach London und morgen dann von dort nach Reykjavik, dann New York und schliesslich irgendwann nach Nashville. 5 Städte über 3 Airlines und 2 Tage machen wir auch nicht wieder, aber es war ein Versuch und nun wissen wir, dass es sich lohnt, in den direkten Weg zu investieren. Wir sind jetzt 3 Wochen hier in Deutschland und 4 Wochen insgesamt in Europa gewesen und da sieht man mal wieder, wie schnell die Zeit vergeht. Zu Hause kommt einem so bekannt vor, dass man sich schnell an die bekannten Abläufe und Orte wieder gewöhnt und sich eben zu Hause fühlt...nicht aber wie im Urlaub an einem fremdem Ort, den man nur besucht und besichtigt, aus dem man dann aber auch wieder abfliegen muss. So ist es jetzt schon komisch, Sachen zu packen und das Haus zu verlassen als würde man zum Supermarkt oder übers Wochenende wegfahren, und es kommt dann erst der Gedanke "Man kommt erst wieder in ? Monaten in dieses Haus, weil man jetzt erst mal in das andere Zuhause muss." Ich weiss nicht, ob sich die USA schon wie Zuhause anfühlen, aber das Wissen, dass da eben jetzt auf unbestimmte Zeit Wohnen und Alltagsleben stattfinden werden, hinterlässt schon das Gefühl bei mir, zwei Zuhause(s?) zu haben.
Grübeln beiseite... es war schön, wieder hier zu sein, bekannte Orte, Freunde und Familie wiederzusehen, und es fällt schwer, auf unbestimmte Zeit adieu zu sagen. Dennoch bleibt das Wissen, dass das alles ja nicht aus der Welt und ein Flug zwar ein finanzieller Aufwand, aber keine 3-Tagesreise mehr ist.

Zeit, nochmal überall zu gucken, dass wir nichts vergessen haben. Wir melden uns von den verschiedenen Stationen unserer Reise, sofern möglich und neue Kontaktdaten gibt's dann bald per Email.

Haltet die Ohren steif und besucht uns, sonst besuchen wir Euch ;-)

No news...

...is good news. We've been away from the blog for a bit, mainly because we've stayed put here in Berlin to be lazy, meet friends, and look at all the things that have changed since we last left. We've also spent time with family and relatives and we're still going through some papers, books and clothes that we left behind more than two years ago. Step by step we're taking things back to the States and I have a feeling this way our move won't really be completed for another few years ;-).
We've begun our last week here and slowly but surely we're starting to become a bit anxious, remembering that we have a new home waiting for us with plenty of boxes to unpack, possibly walls to paint, furniture to buy, things to re-arrange and to decorate, lots of errands to run, a new city and a new neighborhood to get to know...and the list goes on. We've enjoyed Europe and our stay so far and no doubt it will be really difficult to leave family and friends behind again. At the same time, considering the events of the last weeks and months, it will probably be good to have some time in our new home, allowing for the changes to sink in and allowing ourselves (and especially myself) to prepare for the challenges I expect to come.

For the moment, though, we're here, looking forward to another few days in Berlin. Below some pictures of the last days with friends and our big family barbeque night last night :-)

yin and yang

Day and night, sunshine and rain, yin and yang...whatever you want to choose... The idea is that we've had a really nice day (two, actually) and a really shitty day this week. On Sunday we took up my mom's offer to go to the city with us, just to stroll around and enjoy the beautiful weather with a walk, some beer and/ or some ice cream in a cafe somewhere along the way. We walked along what always has been and still is one of my favorites in Berlin: Unter den Linden (the long boulevard with old museums, churches, bridges, libraries, a university, etc. leading up to the Brandenburg Gate, coming form the East). Really nice, indeed.

#1: with my parents

#2: the famous Berlin TV tower

#3: P enjoying his beer

#4: ...my mom and I enjoying sweets

#5: one of many cathedrals (the Berlin cathedral in this case) and the Neptun fountain

#6: in front of my alma mater

#7: take a guess...



Yesterday went on our daytrip to the Baltic Sea - to the island of Usedom, from where you can practically spit to Poland (not literally, of course). The three towns by the sea (Ahlbeck, Heringsdorf and Bansin) are arguably some of the most beautiful spots in all of (East) Germany. we left early in the morning with my mom's little Smart car (TINY! I have to take a picture) and returned at night. We strolled along the beach boulevards, hung out at the beach for a few hours, dove into the icy cold water, ate lots and lots of fresh fish and soked up the sun. Later in the day we went to the city of Greifswald, an old university town. My friend Sabrina is just finishing her studies and getting ready to go to Cape Town for half a year, so we thought we'd stop by to see her for dinner. When we returned around midnight, we were exhausted, but happy about a beautiful day, in every sense.






Today then we got ready to explore the former West Berlin and right off the bat Berlin had to remind me of its less attractive sides: Only two stops from where we got on the train, the subway broke down and everybody had to get off to wait for a bus. That bus never came (at least not in the 35 minutes that we waited in the scorching heat with dozens of others) and we embarked on an hour long journey through one of the more ghetto-like parts of Berlin before we got to the train that took us downtown. Next to being upset about just being kicked off the train and left in the heat forever without any further notice, a tour in a bus full of loud kids and teenagers (who got out of school early due to the heat) without airconditioning was less than pleasant. We finally got to Berlin Zoologischer Garten (the center of West Berlin, many would say) to do some shopping. None of that proved successful either, but we witnessed the typical Berlin rudeness, just to complete the already not-so-great day. These are the moments when I am reminded of why I have such a love-hate relationship with this city and why I still do not feel homesick, much less hungry to return one day. Don't get me wrong: It has its many, many good sides and it can be a fantastic, fun city to be in. But when it's crappy, it's crappy and it can rain on one's parade thoroughly.
Tonight we are meeting another good friend of ours and after that we have decided to go to a late show in one of our favorite movie theaters. We have to return downtown, but this time of year it is beautiful to be out at night. It is light until 10.30 pm or later and people are only out to have a drink or an ice-cream or to go for a walk... all in good spirits without any stress or bad attitudes. Let's hope it'll be the nice night out that we're looking for. The movie ("Two days in Paris"), at least sounds good and has gotten good reviews. So then...

Home, sweet home

After an exciting 1.5 weeks out and about in Europe, we made it to Berlin, our final destination for the next few weeks (apart from a few trips here and there). We took the train from Erfurt on Thursday and met my parents in Berlin at the station right thereafter. We got into Berlin's new, ultramodern and huge station that was just opened a few months ago (we hadn't seen it yet). In that respect, much has changed here... Berlin is an eternal construction site and evidence is visible everywhere. Much of the city is being built anew and much is being redone still, almost 18 years after the fall of the wall. Lots of construction is being done in the area around the former "nomansland" (between East and West) and especially where the government resides. We have only driven through downtown Berlin so far, but on Monday or Tuesday we will dive right into the main drags of the city, revisiting where we lived and studied and hung out. Lots of pictures will follow then.

In the meantime, we've spent our time eating and talking and sleeping and reading, enjoying the familiarity, comfort and warmth of my parents' house. It's great to be pampered, and to feel the spirit of unconditional love and care that makes home home. Being back feels like a good mix of change and stability, in us, in my family and the environment.

Other than that the G8 summit has dominated the news since we 've been in Germany. Every night we heard and saw more about massive anti-globalization demonstrations, anti-Bush demonstrations and demonstrations for a more just distribution of goods in the worlds, especially Africa. Bob Geldorf, Bono and German singer/ songwriter Herbert Grönemeyer were present to give concerts and to help all those who went out into the streets and who camped outside the premises for days to draw attention to the all too urgent environmental issues and the vast discrepency of ressources in the world.

While I wish we could have been there for some of the action and protests during the G8 summit, we might take the opportunity to enjoy the gorgeous warm weather at the Baltic Sea (another one of my childhood favorites, as it was the one and only sea most East Germans could easily and regularly reach during their summers) for a day or two. It all depends what we feel like. That's what's beautiful about vacation...there is no pressure to do something or to get somewhere on time... Time doesn't really matter.

road trip

It's been a while since I've last had the chance to report... we've been on the road since early Sunday morning and finding enough time and an internet opportunity at the same time never happened until now. Below the last days in more detail:

Sunday, June 3rd

We got up early to get to the airport on time to fly out to London. It seemed that half of Iceland was at the airport at that early hour. We got to London Heathrow more or less on time, where my brother came to meet us. It was really good to see him again after 1.5 years and soooo helpful to have two extra hands to help us carry our luggage through the London underground. We then travelled to my friend Zara's apartment...right in the heart of the city, it was a fantastic starting point for a great walk to Buckingham Palace, through the park, to Downing Street, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, across the bridge to Southbank and back to Covent Garden and into Soho later that night. It was honestly one of the best days we've ever had in London - the most amazing weather, great company, a nice dinner right by the Tower Bridge and just the invigorating hustle and bustle of London that somehow seems so different from most other downtowns. New for both of us was a ride in a real black London cab - quite an experience and compared to current public transportation prices not all that expensive, really. Martin left us half way through our walk to meet the friend he was staying with for a beer. Patrick and I ended the day with some wine and baclava back in Zara and Scott's apartment, happy about and grateful for safe travels, reunions and friendships.


#1: Over dinner, we were lucky enough to see the Tower Bridge lift its gates...something very, very rare as we were told...

#2: with my friend Zara in a small café

Monday, June 4th

After a good night's sleep, we got up early again to schlepp our luggage a few tube stations north, where we had a date to meet my brother. We made it, but riding the London tube with so much luggage during morning rush hour was everything but pleasant for everyone involved :( Regardless, we met Martin on time, packed all our stuff into the car that he had had in England for the past 8 months (he drove it to Birmigham in October to start his position as a student teacher) and started our journey home. We got to Dover on time for some fish and chips before taking the ferry across the Channel. Once in France, we headed to Belgium and only stopped briefly to look at beautiful Brügge. Really, a stunning little place well worth visiting! We had decided earlier to continue to Brussels and to spend the evening and the night there. Honestly, at first sight I was less than impressed with Brussels...it seemed to be a bad combination of the less attractive parts of Paris architecturally (and in terms of cleanliness and smell) and the horrible tourism industry that controls downtown Prague. The immediate center is beautiful, but I find it hard to enjoy the beauty of a place when you can hardly breathe or walk, there are so many tourists, souvenir shops and overpriced restaurants. All that (and the fact that our hotel was right across from what seemed like a gigantic, nasty nuclear power plant) considerably changed my mood and it was only elevated by a late night drive through the more attractive suburbs of Brussels, on the way to the famous Atomium. We saw that just after the sun had set and it was just absolutely stunning in size and illuminating the nightsky like it did.


#3: Brügge

#4: Belgian waffles...yummy...

#5: Brussels' marketplace at sunset

Tuesday, June 5th

We got up early and pretty much drove all the way through to Erfurt, Germany, stopping only twice to eat a bite and use the bathroom. We got to my granny's place in Erfurt in the late afternoon right on time for some coffee and cake :) Martin dropped us of and moved on to Jena, a small town near Erfurt where he lives and studies. The rest of the night we took it easy, talked, watched TV and read. (I'm reading "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer at the moment...an immensely gripping book!)

#6: With my brother and my granny over coffee and cake

Wednesday, June 6th

Today we enjoyed a sunny day in the old town of Erfurt, where my granny and my mother both grew up. We walked through the old town and Patrick had his first Thuringia bratwurst in a long time and we ate potato dumplings with gravy for lunch - both German specialties and things we've long craved.

#7: Erfurt's famous Krämer bridge (the small old merchant's houses mark the edges of the bridge across the river)

#8: Patrick's first bratwurst again

How is it to be back home? In many ways it feels like I've never left, but I've had many moments along the way thinking it was good to be back in Europe. It's just home and no matter how familiar I feel with the Us by now, everything about Europe seems to speak to a deeply rooted part of me (not surprising, I assume, considering that I lived here for 25 years and have only been away for a total of 3 years). My memory of smells and sounds and places is amazingly accurate and the language problems I had anticipated and experienced when I returned from my year as a foreign exchange student never set in. I guess the German part of me is fully activated...

Tomorrow or on Friday we plan to continue home home to Berlin, with a stopover in the beautiful old city of Leipzig, where we are planning to meet another good friend of ours. We haven't made up our minds yet, but, as always, will keep you posted.

Runtur

Runtur is Reykjavik's big pub crawl that starts tonight around midnight and lasts until the morning hours (which light-wise makes no difference, as we find waking up around 1 am every night to bright twilight that never transforms into complete darkness). The plan was to stay up until then and watch the spectacle for which Reykjavik apparently is known, but at the moment I doubt that will happen. We're both back in our coffeeshop, hanging out on a couch, reading and writing and daydreaming. I have a feeling we'll just go to bed when we get back to the hostel. Seems our wild days are over ;-) Let's blame it on the jetlag and the weather... it was an absolutely dreadful day today - rain, gusty winds, "slugbelly grey sky" (a couple from Seattle just taught us that phrase ;-)) and cold. More like January in Nashville than JUNE. That alone made me decide that I would never emigrate to Iceland...I don't know how people stand the fact that this is the warmest season of the year and it's barely warm and sunny enough for the snow to melt.
Luckily, we had decided two days ago that today would be our day at the Blue Lagoon. Even that, though was rough at times. The whole lagoon is outside and the wind blew heavily over our heads. Being out of the water turned into an arctic experience, so we soaked in the pools for about 5 hours straight, lunch and bathroom breaks aside. Now we look like raisins with baby-soft skin :) I'm attaching some pictures for you to see... the lagoon is in the most surreal landscape you can imagine...all dark rocks and nothing else. Really looks like I picture the moon in parts. The lagoon itself is this fancy thermal pool that advertises its mineral and algae water and silica mud that is supposed to be really good for your skin, body and soul. Naturally, all our ailments are gone now ;-)
Tomorrow is our last day in Reykjavik and we'll try to see more of the city, hoping that the weather will be a bit kinder.

1. Our hostel (The Salvation Army Guesthouse) from the outside


2. The Blue Lagoon, part I

3. The Blue Lagoon, part II

4. The two of us looking 10 years younger after our spa day ;-) (note that what looks crazy about Patrice's hair is actually a shadow and something in the wall)

Where's Waldo (aka Patrick)?

Forgot this...

1. This is the home of the best hot dog in the world..according to Lonely Planet, the city paper... and now Patrick.

Reykjavik trivia 102

Found a nice little coffee shop in a bookstore (not Starbuck's and not Barnes and Noble, thank goodness, but "te og kaffi") and I will use the remaining minutes my battery grants me to tell you about our day today. Let's start with Reykjavik/ Iceland trivia, 102, shall we?
- One of the traditional dishes is putrified shark meat. No joke. In this case, I think we'll pass on "When in Rome, do as the Romans"...
- About 70% of Iceland's population live in the Reykjavik area...so the country (the size of Kentucky) is pretty much empty. There are only 300.000 people total, which makes it the least densely populated country in Europe. And: Only 2 % of the country is forested. Other than that, there's rock and grass and lots of dandelions.
- The welfare system is similar to other European countries: High taxes, but free schooling, free healthcare, money for children until they are out of school and all that good stuff.
- About 75 % of the country uses geothermal heating for heating houses and water.
- Icelanders have the highest life expectancy in Europe, possibly in the world (depending o where you look Japan might be higher for women). Must be that putrified shark and all this clean air. I was a bit surprised about that as fruit and veggies seem to be a luxury here ...almost all of it has to be imported (although, we learned today, the Iceland School of Horticulture grows bananas in a greenhouse nearby. Sounds like that should make them cheaper, but that's actually not the case. In the winter the shortest day has only about 4 hours of daylight, so much electricity is needed to provide the bananas with the sunlight they need.)
Alright, now about our day. We fell asleep right away last "night" at 6 pm after a nice long soak in one of the many geothermal pools here. It felt fabulous after that fairly long trip to be out in the rough, cloudy early spring cold and to sit in a jacuzzi (one 104 degrees [41 C], the other a bit cooler). We slept like rocks until about 1 am, at which time we were wide awake (and it was light enough outside to fool you into thinking it was at least 5 am). Somehow we managed to go back to sleep, though, and woke up to our wake-up call at 7 am in order to get ready for our tour on time. Our tour today took us all along the golden triangle I talked about yesterday. We saw craters and waterfalls and geysers and the midatlantic rift (Iceland should really be two islands by now...only volcanic eruptions fill in the gap enough to "glue" together what the tectonic movement pulls apart.). The latter goes through the Thingvellier National Park, where the parliament of Iceland used to hold its meetings for two weeks every year until the 18th century (if I recall correctly). Pretty cool stuff. Only downside: We ended up choosing the tourbus over the rental car for financial reasons (although let's not talk about what we ended up paying for the day today...) and tourbuses are just never cool. You always have to stop and go wherever everyone else stops and goes and that way you never get off the beaten track. You end up in more souvenir shops than sights, but alas. Iceland on a budget is kind of like Dubai or Japan or San Francisco on a budget - either you spend all your money eating real food and staying at a decent place without bunk beds or you sacrifice your healthy diet for a few days and stay in bunk beds so you can at least see some of what you came for. Or you wait until you're older and more established to come here...which most people seem to do, as we rarely see backpackers and lots of older folks instead.

Enough said for today... below some pics...




1. Reykjavik's main drag...really

2. Our room
3. Look closely at the roof of the car!!!
4. One of the volcanic craters right by Reykjavik (Kerid crater)
5. Gullfoss waterfall - one of the most visited waterfalls in Iceland.
6. Gullfoss again (it was FREEZING!!!)




7. ...and again

8. The geyser crater before it "spits"



9. ...and right at the beginning (my camera wasn't fast enough to let me get the whole deal)

10. And, last but not least, the midatlantic rift. Look to the left and you can see the edge of the plate quite well...

"Bless, bless"...