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Weekend in Rome: Part II
2007-06-07 19:14:00
As promised the second installment of my impressions of Rome during our weekend stay. I'm still rummaging through the photos.. Gelateria The first gelato I had was called CioccoChocco or something similar. It was double chocolate with coconut flakes -a heavenly balance of cool, cream, and chocolatey goodness. It would be hard to go back to Germany knowing there would always be better gelato here in Rome. And after this one scoop, it will be impossible to convince myself to accept an ice cream in the U.S. The Marble Slab has nothing on this Italian gelato! My second scope was Pistachio. Oh. It tasted so nutty and not too sweet. Just whatever you do here in Rome, don't go Giolitti Gelateria. The gelato taste like it's made from powder. Yeah there might be over 50 flavors but you have to wait in a line sometimes stretching out of the door to get your fake gelato. Go anywhere else -like San Crispino, Via della Panetteria 42. They offer Gelato without preservatives and artificial co...
More About: Italy , Weekend , Part , Venturing

"Konzert" and "Kiste"
2007-06-07 15:26:00
Horray! We got to see a rare European appearance of Modest Mouse last night and loved every minute of it. There were two drum sets and three percussionist, who produced beats that totally kicked, and there is always entertainment when one guy alone can play a cornet, synthesizer, string bass, and bass guitar. It was a last minute decision and tickets were still available. In the next week, they are playing in Frankfurt, Köln, and Berlin tonight. Tickets are available through ticketbox.de Oh, if a front stage mosh pit and over two dozen people successfully crowd surfing isn't your thing, you'd be better off downloading the music instead. After hitting the sack late last night, we were awoken by ring at the door at 8:50 am. It's a holiday today, who could it be? Oh, it's just our friendly neighborhood farmer delivering our bio fruit and veggies. We learned about Ökokiste.de from a guest at a birthday party and decided to try it out. Or, lets say Alex was gaga for this new way to...
More About: Music , Shopping

Weekend in Rome: Part I
2007-06-05 12:08:00
My first impression of Romans: These people are on the GO! My second impression: They live for dinner. In just three short days, we saw it all -what Rome is like sunny, rainy, during the day, night, weekday, weekend and on holiday. I love the mixer of the new with the ancient architecture. This is a three part summary of my observations while in Rome. This first part features a short film of a some of the major sights in Rome. There is a mistake in the film captioning, maybe you can spot it. Auto MadnessA taxi from Leonardo Di Vinci Airport cost 60 Euro for three people to get into town, there is no meter. The ride back from the city to the airport costs 50 Euro. In terms of obeying the universal rules of the road, our driver into town was just short of mad for American standards and ludicrous for German. But he wasn't alone. Tailgating is common, driving slower or the same speed as the right lane in the left lane is common, making 3 lanes from a one lane street is also common. T...
More About: Italy , Weekend , Part , Venturing

market fresh, bringing home the bacon
2007-06-04 14:21:00
I've only been using PayPerPost (PPP) for about a month now and it's been an interesting experience so far. The fun of it all is looking at advertisers' opportunities and creating a post to match their needs and still remain in the spirit of the lucid in deutschland theme. Hopefully I haven't strayed too far, but surely the future of the LID website is a little more certain with a slow roll of funds. But I'll admit it's hard to see the point in advertising for gambling sites or home loans. I want to get paid to blog, but there are boundaries. Good thing that PPP has developed a new feature to their blog advertising marketplace, called PayPerPost Direct. The idea: Advertisers now can directly approach Bloggers to write blog posts. How it works seems simple enough. I, as a blogger, specify the minimum amount I want to be paid for 'Direct' opportunities and that announcement is seen as a widget on my blog. When an advertiser finds my blog and decides they'd like me to wri...
More About: Market , Home , Fresh , Mark , Bacon

expat life :: Heza style
2007-06-04 11:36:00
Wow. An interview? Me? You want to interview me? I'm not sure how much I can contribute because I have yet to enjoy the daily blunders of a full-time job in Germany and when things are really tough, I have the luxury of a native speaking boyfriend. Alas, back in February, the writer's at EXPAT INTERVIEWS asked me to fill out a questionnaire describing my life as a foreigner in another land. I lost track of it after my knee accident, but dusted it off and they graciously excepted my reply, despite its tardiness. You can read my interview here. From the few interviews I've read so far from expats in Germany, I've felt a sense of slight relief (similar to releasing a pressure cooker in my head) knowing that there are others who have experienced related encounters and were able to formulate them into words I was unable to grasp. Ahh.. If you are an expat and would like to give tips that you think will be helpful for other would-be expats, visit the EXPAT INTERVIEW website and get...
More About: Life , Style , Expat

no escaping the trouble with being foreign
2007-05-29 20:38:00
New Axe-deo ads were introduced at the movie theater Friday night. This should have happened Thursday night without the stinky deo.It's been a busy time these past days. This is a ramble, recap post, detailing earlier moments during our long weekend, consisting of a trip to Regensburg and the blight of our favorite Indisches restaurant. We took our minds off of the crazy curry service brush, with a late-showing of the new Pirates of the Caribbean film. Johnny Depp was just what I needed although I could have done with a mute Elizabeth Swann. She's pretty to look at but that's about it. This past Saturday, we welcomed Martin and Lydia for the first time to our home and had a grill party for their arrival. It also happened to be Lydia's bday. The brought us a beautiful tree with purple flowers for our balcony. How sweet. Saturday also welcomed a rain spell that still wants to trump my immune system. I've been tired for three days straight. But I refuse to be sick so close to o...
More About: Party , Film , Foreign , Grilling , Bein

a room for two, please
2007-05-29 20:32:00
We've caught the travel bug! Just t-minus 2+ days until Rome, we are thrilled to leave this cold and rainy weather that we have in Germany. While in Rome, we will be staying in a cozy bed and breakfast, over looking the Piazza del Viminale. One of these next vacations, we are contemplating getting a little more adventurous, trying our luck by staying in vacation rentals such as a condo, villa, or cabin. One of my lofty dreams is to return to the USA "Sideways" style and travel the wine country in California and savor the delectable foods and wines while enjoying the crumpled terrane landscape. This is a sponsored post. Danke sponsors! Disclosure
More About: Room , Lease , Ease

Even Girls Operate Heavy Machinery
2007-05-24 02:20:00
Endlich. My music video with my MiniDV files is finished. YEAH! I'm so proud of it. I had to get a clue and clean the old Dell and use the iRiver as an extra hard drive to create the .avi file. It took 35 minutes to produce, and 15 minutes to compress. I love the Vegas Movie Studio and Virtual Dub. Now if I just had the time to compile the other old video clips.. Now every time we walk or drive by a construction site, I beam inside knowing I can operate the excavator. The day before my appointment though, I was filled with nervous thoughts. What if I miss understood the German instructor? too complicated? What if I break it? or worse flip the damn thing over with me inside? The only screw up I made that day was that I misread the driving directions and navigated us to the owner's house in Bad Tölz instead of the Kiesgrube. I had to annoy a village lady mowing her lawn for directions. We were almost late for my appointment! As soon as we arrived at the gravel pit, the nerves me...
More About: Girls , Film , Venturing , Heavy , Machinery

Friendly Reminder
2007-05-24 00:36:00
Before you pack your travel bags for Germany, be sure to call your medical insurance company to see if you are insured when you are out of the country. When I left Florida almost two years ago, I used short-term travel insurance from the US for my first three months in Munich. Considering how grossly expensive medical treatment can be, it just made sense to have a safety net if I accidentally bounced off the pavement from massive consumption of Paulaner Dunkles. Check out SecureInsuranceQuotes.com for expert advice and free quotes on Dental, Travel, Business or Renters insurance This is a sponsored post. Danke sponsors! Disclosure
More About: Friendly , Reminder , Remi

Going to the Flohmarkt
2007-05-19 16:43:00
I've been trying to get a video produced of last Saturday's adventure. I won't say just what yet but I dropped a hint here about a year and a half ago. Unfortunately, my dinosaur for a computer took 17 hours alone to compile the video clips into an .avi file and in the end, it forgot to add the sound. So I'll have to wait to use Alex's computer to finish the job and send the video to google and publish my post. Very frustrating. But to counteract this bit of disappointment, we received our balcony furniture and now have our very own piece of outdoor heaven. We were going to have a long balcony-breakfast today but instead I was invited to the Riem Flohmarkt, Bavaria's largest open area flea market, with Mandy, Fabian and Muffin. I scored 3 espresso machiato cups with matching plates and six stemmed glass desert bowls. But I'm really excited about the great bierkrugs with pewter lids. I've been meaning to get some for home and maybe send some to my friends back in the States ...
More About: Shopping , Mark , Going , Goin

for the love of cooking
2007-05-19 16:00:00
With all this beautiful weather here in Munich, we've been able to entertain quite a few guests in our humble abode. With all that entertaining, it's always a plus to come across a website that offers new, free recipes to try out and keep our returning guests amused. Cook ing Spot.com offers just that, thousands of free recipes. One plus that I found about the site is that the main categories are further separated into temperature serving, food groups, or ethnic and regional differences, making finding and gathering the recipes you want quick and easy. This is a sponsored post. Danke sponsors! Disclosure
More About: Love , King , Cookin

fast food in germany - made math simple
2007-05-17 09:49:00
One of the perks of living in Germany is the infrequency of fast food chains. It curbs my appetite from taking in a calorie bomb or two. But the billboards are no stranger to Munich city streets and sidewalks. They are a major hindrance to my willpower, especially when walking by a big juicy burger takes at least 15 seconds to accomplish and by then it's too late. The little nanoburger molecules in my bloodstream are activated by the carefully placed tomato, pickles, and special mystery sauce on the towering giant. Honestly, I want to do my body good. But somewhere in my twisted mind lies the reasoning that a little fast food exposure is good for the immune system. I try to hold off my cravings for those conspicuous moments when I've had a little too much Weißbier and need a quick remedy to send me home without the wobbles. For example, McDreck has the perfect solution for those on a budget, with their "Ein mal Eins" menu. For those without much German grammar under their belt a...
More About: Food , Fast Food , Math , Made

Graffiti Friday
2007-05-11 20:09:00
I'm not really keen on vandalism, but some of this stuff is truly art. I hope to post more graffiti pedestrian tunnels along the Isar river.
More About: Photography , Graffiti , Friday , Munich , Frida

building a freeway thru your site
2007-05-10 21:12:00
Little by little this blog hobby has piqued my interest in search engine optimization (SEO). What's the harm in improving the visitor volume and traffic quality to your website from search engines? None. After all we are blogging to send our messages, forge a connection, make a little moola.. If you are interested in optimizing your visitor count, stop by the Apogee Search Blog, which focuses on the latest news in Search Engine Marketing, like what's happening with Google, Yahoo, or MSN. I'd compare it to diving into the couch notes of a search engine shrink. This is a sponsored post. Danke sponsors! Disclosure
More About: Building , Site , Freeway , Build

What's your BIO awareness?
2007-05-09 11:05:00
source: clean-water.uwex.edu This Friday night is Nacht der Umwelt at the Green City office in Munich. I hope to check it out just to gain more awareness with what's going on with the environmental scene in my home town. It's time I find out how things compare to what I know from my Florida roots. Have you taken your carbon footprint test yet? I require 1.7 planets to live. One point seven planets! And my main source of transportation is powered by me. I got the link from another expat at Letters Home to You in the article documenting another sad example of our capability to be so hypocritical and disgusting. Some speculators are going too far with the, "take advantage before it's too late" gaggle. I wonder how much more human impact are we causing by creating ECO adventures and wonderparks in the name of imminent global catastrophe. Have we finally found a way to make serious blingo off of tree hugging and saving cute baby polar bears? I'm pleased that there is a renewed int...
More About: Awareness , Ness , Waren , Rene , Aware

Sign up for InWeDay
2007-05-09 09:03:00
In the spirit of Internationalism, I just signed up for International Weblogger's day. Just what is it? Not so out of the mouths of babes - I've taken it from the source: International Weblogger's day is an effort on behalf of the bloggers of the world to unite them in a petition to the global community for such a day as an "International Weblogger's Day". While yet an unofficial event, webloggers can commemorate the work of their peers by celebrating this day with posts on their blogs and meetups.
More About: Blogging , Sign

"In Me" Wish List
2007-05-08 14:38:00
Wish lists rock. I don't have to guess what my sister wants or buy her something she hates and deep down I wanted for myself. Maybe I'm supposed to know what my close friends and family want, which I'm pretty good at that from a well-being perspective. But I suck at grasping the material desires of others. Even for myself most of the time I'm at a loss. My birthday is in January and I never know what I want and I don't know what to tell people who ask. The primary reason is that everything is gone after December 25th and I'm gifted out, both giving and receiving. But then the ideas seem to flow during the summer months and then ::Poof:: are promptly forgot. Here's my scramble to piece the little sticky notes into a list before they get thrown away. Maybe these will spark some summer time wish listing in you. The sweet tooth in meNerds Rope AssortedAmerican Candy. God I love American candy only because I'm chemically tricked to like it. I just had my first Nerd Rope experie...
More About: Personal , Photography , Blogging , List , Sporting

Diagonal approach
2007-05-07 09:44:00
This is a travel blog that doesn't travel. Sorry about that. It'll be another month before the traveling begins. The only thing that traveled this weekend was the bed. Alex got a wild hair and half suggested late last night we should place the bed in a diagonal position. I said okay do it now. Seriously. So he moved it and now it's a little tight around the edges but an interesting change. (The furniture moving may have got the neighbors below to find their wild hair as well, hehe.) All this spend of time at home has made us consider more improvements to the apartment, but most of all, really enjoying life and our company together. It seems we've found our whimsical side of our relationship again, it moved when I moved to Germany. And there was a bit of chase to snatch it back. Maybe it's true the first few years of a couple's life together are a bit tough. I guess I wasn't ever fully aware how much because there were so many unfamiliar and exciting moments and only a few...
More About: Personal , Roach

Wellness Tag
2007-05-03 11:40:00
source: AcostaRecently I find myself comparing the English and German word equivalents and seeing which I like better. I'll stick with the English word tender over the German version, zart, it's an auditory oxymoron. But sometimes English goes a stray for me and I want to run from my own language. Take the English butchery of gynecology, and you get the short and whiny: Gyno. It's not even a word. What's worse it rhymes with rhino, which is not something I want to visualize during an exam. The voice of Lois Griffin of Family Guy (Hey, I visited the Gyno today.) echoes in my head when I think of this unword. Ugh, it is concussion inducing. To me, the word in German, Frauenarzt, sounds so much better. Neutral. Tender. Okay, maybe you know where I'm going with this. I had a wellness visit with the Frauenarzt yesterday. My first annual medi-pelvic excursion in Germany. Although, I must confess I cheated. Here's how it happened..... Read more!
More About: Health , Wellness , Ness , Well

Connecting Students
2007-05-03 00:41:00
Germany is slowly changing its university system to take on a few characteristics from the American system, like naming three elite universities in Germany -two just happen to be in Munich (TUM and LMU). But for more than one reason, Germany is still miles away from bringing valuable networking services to their future and current students, it's especially hard for us expats studying abroad. Maybe one day college classifieds will become a world-wide tool for students and those looking to connect with students. For now, for those studying in the US, there's CollegeMedium.com, a classifieds site that lets you target specific schools and search for items catered to students, whether it be a part-time job, roommate or cheap items to buy, or connect with other students. There's even something for those who aren't students, such as posting jobs, housing or items for sale. The best way to secure an advantage is to keep connected and stay informed. Visit CollegeMedium.com and find o...
More About: Students , Connect , Connecting

Hirschau Option over Maibaum
2007-05-02 11:40:00
Yesterday's neighborhood Maibaumfest diddied up the Schlager hits as well as the average age of each party goer. This makes sense because there is a nursing home just across the way. So there wasn't much to report. No one stole the Maypole or tried to randoms it for beer. But apparently this is a tradition in smaller towns. Nope. The white and blue diamonded pole stood proud and tall against a cloudless blue sky backdrop and the tiny crowd sat on the bierbänke, maybe tapping their feet to the oompa band tunes. Actually, yesterday was a better day for a bike ride toward the Hirsch au (deer meadow), where few people go and we could enjoy the sun and listen to the wind rustle the leaves in the trees. I read about Süd Tirol and started plans for our vacation there at the end of Juli. It should be pretty relaxing with lots of biking and hiking.. oh, and eating to do. This got me pretty hungry so we headed to the Hirschau Biergarten for a plate of spareribs and spicy barbecue sauce. Y...
More About: Dental , Traditions , Over , Opti

Monkeying Around
2007-04-29 16:56:00
My sis sent Alex and I a much needed care package from the States with this a card of a monkey. Her humor matches Alex's almost to the T, where I'm left scratching my head, they both are rolling on the ground laughing. So now the monkey card is posted on the bathroom door. Thanks Tiff! It's another long weekend in Munich because Tuesday is a holiday. I think the equivalent in the US is Labor day. (The most of the world celebrates Labor Day in May because of the Chicago Haymarket Riot, but the US celebrates Labor Day in September.) There will be a celebration down the street around our neighborhood Maypole to welcome spring, although she already made her appearance a little early this year. I hope to take pictures of the town folk erecting the small tree at the top of the pole and maybe we'll hear the polka version of the song "The Safety Dance." Wouldn't that be fun?
More About: Traditions , Round