Embarassing Moment in Amsterdam #1

Okay, so I promised to make public at least one of my embarassing anecdotes from Amsterdam. An "E.A.A.", we'll call it. Okay, so here goes: E.A.A. number one. Ah hah ha ha. What an appropriate title. Hang on...you'll see! Ahem. Sometimes something will happen that makes it impossible to ignore, much less simply avoid the habits of others that we find, well, unusual. Case in point: free peeing. Not sure what I'm referring to? Well, that's okay. It's probably something that you're better off being in the dark about, but a concept with which M. and I have become quite familiar with since being in Europe. Okay, so to get back to the details of embarassing moment numero uno, I'm walking along one afternoon in Amsterdam, checking things off on my list of destinations for the day. After coming out of a shop, I started walking along the adjacent canal when I realized I'd forgotten the address of my next destination. No problem! I'd packed my handy "Shopping Guide to Amsterdam" (gotta love convention freebies!) in my bag: I can get the address from there! So, I pick a vacant stretch of pavement, face downstream and set my bag down and begin rifling through. And right then is when I smell the worst stench ever. Aaah, the smell of what third-graders everywhere like to refer to as "#1". Ewww. So, I look from side to side and sure enough, the canal is right there. Keep in mind that at this point, I am so in love with Amsterdam that nothing is going to tarnish it in my mind. But at that moment, I was thinking, "Geez...if the canals smell like THAT, well, I might have to reconsider!" But, fortunately, the smell quickly went away, and I continued rifling, found the book and flipped to the appropriate page. As I'm scanning for my next address, I smell it AGAIN, the worst stinkity-stink you can imagine and I'm thinking, "Good grief! What IS going on here?" I look side to side again. Again, nothing. So I stand up, turn around, and as I do so, I discover, to my great dismay, that the patch of pavement that I have chosen to set my bag down on is, oh, 36 inches or so from an open-air urinal. Yes, people, an open-air urinal. At this point, I jump up, horrified, and start frantically feeling the back of my jacket for damp spots: yes, damp spots. THAT'S how close I was to the dude responsible for the smell! Yeah, he was just standing on the street behind a metal screen which is strategically positioned over a grate that runs, I'm guessing, into the canal over which we were standing. EWWWWWW! Okay, so we can all learn something from my mistake, here, which is: if you are in a very, very, VERY crowded city, and you see an open patch of pavement, well, there's probably a reason that it's empty! And two, if you are in Amsterdam, beware the grate in the sidewalk: if there's a waist-high metal screen in front of it, hold your nose and keep on a-walkin'!

Oooh...there's a palace in the backyard?

Today, M. and I took the opportunity to be touristy right in M.'s 'hood in Bavaria. Our main destination today was the Residenz in Würzburg. Despite the fact that some of the frescoes are undergoing renovations, the Residenz is a really incredible sight. It was inspired in part by the palace at Versailles, so it probably comes as no surprise that the building itself is beautiful and is surrounded by some amazing formal gardens. The Residenz was home to the Prince-Bishops of Würzburg, who controlled not only the religious aspects of life in Würzburg, but also the political. The lines between secular and ecclesiastical offices were apparently a little blurry at that point! Anyway, the building also houses the Hofkirche (Court Church), an incredibly ornate chapel (and very cool, much to our relief on a hot June afternoon!) It was a great place to spend the afternoon...we were just sorry that we couldn't stay and partake in the Weinfest (wine festival) going on in the residence garden...we were talking with people from M.'s office last weekend, and this particular festival has been the downfall of more than one American! Alas, there was only Coke light for us on this day...maybe next time!

Peeek-tures!

The nice folks at Blogger have made it just that much easier to add photos to blogs such as this humble addition to the web, and to that, I say, well yee-haw! As you can see in the most recent post, it looks like it's working pretty well, too! Pictures have been added to a few of the previous posts as well. Need a "cheat sheet" to find them? Click on February and March 2005 for photos accompanying "Eau de Cologne", "On the Road Again", "Is this Hessen...or Hawaii?" and May 2005 for "Amsterdam!" Could we be just a short hop from audio links on these pages? If only! I can't wait to share the love that is techno, techno, techno! Did I mention that I love techno? Well, almost as much as I love germanized radio, anyway!

God Bless Web Radio!

Okay, I may be sans-TV, and I'll admit that I enjoy German radio for lots of reasons, not the least of which is hearing tunes that you would simply never, ever hear in the states. Case in point? In heavy rotation on my radio station of choice here is the Tom Jones classic "Sex Bomb". If you have not heard this doozy, as I had not, prior to living here, I promise you, you can be in the worst mood ever and this song is capable of fixing it for you. Fixing what, you ask? Anything. Really, it's just that hysterical. Trust me, it's Monday morning, you've overslept and now you're smack in the middle of the worst hair day you've ever had...life as you know it, it's in the toilet. Well, folks, I've found the answer! Throw on a little "Sex Bomb" from Mr. Jones' and his totally over-the-top crooning sprinkled with some fairly ri-diculous lyrics and things are bound to be looking just a little bit better! That being said, however, there are days in Germany when you get homesick for all of the songs that you're used to listening to in America. So, hearing of my particular homesickness predicament, M. hooked me up this past weekend by finding the weblink to a radio station in Atlanta that we've listened to while visiting his family. And these days, I am in love with this radio station, in no small part, because they are supporting my current fascination with the song "Speed of Sound" by Coldplay. This song is being played absolutely constantly in Amsterdam (hey, thanks Amsterdam for creating my latest sonic addiction!) So, if you're like me, and being subjected to endless renditions of the Spice Girls or Tom Jones (or polka of ANY sort, as I sometimes am!) on your local radio station and feel yourself needing a break, here's my radio hookup from M.'s neck of the woods: http://www.99x.com/ . Aaaaah...it's so nice to hear even the commercials from home: it makes us feel like we're almost there!

Molly says Yes!

In the last year, I have had many wonderful experiences and been lucky enough to meet many, many great people who have become my friends. And chief among them is the gentlest, kindest, most genuine man that I know...why, yes, you might have guessed, I'm referring to the oft-blog-appearing M.! He has become not only my traveling companion on this big adventure that was leaving the states, but in all of the little adventures, too, and along the way, he has also become my greatest friend...and the person that I love like noone else. I am, indeed, a very, very lucky girl, and a very happy girl, too. And, it was one of the happiest moments out of many happy days, when on Friday morning, at Heidelberg Castle, I received a proposal from M. and (as you might have guessed by this point!) my answer was yes!

So this is SUM-mer...

Brrr! That's all I have to say on the topic of summertime in Germany! Whoo! I thought that adjusting to life without air conditioning in my apartment or car might be difficult, but thanks to an unseasonably cool June, it's been easier than I thought! But conveniently enough, they've shut off the radiators in my building which means that I'm wandering from room to room wearing a sweatsuit...and the blankets from my bed, unfortunately! (It's an attractive picture, I know!) Plenty of my colleagues from work have been traveling to warmer spots for the recent holidays...the popular places this month have been the Canary Islands and Mallorca, of which the latter is apparently so popular with German tourists that the bars all serve German beers and the language is spoken. Not exactly the best place if you're looking to get away from German culture, I guess, but it's still a good getaway from what I hear...might have to look into that!

Amsterdam....taaaake two!

A little deja vu: I have again just returned from Amsterdam! I know, I know...I spent the weekend there (sans my traveling companion, M., who was away in eastern Germany on temporary duty) at the European Orthodontic Society annual meeting. I had a great time and did some shopping for fun things like pliers and wires. Okay, OKAY, so there might have been the purchase of a cute bracelet or two as well! Who's to say! The "Shopping Guide to Amsterdam" was part of the free gift at the conference! Annnywaaaaay.... I know you're probably dying to know: how in the world did I know when it was time to come home? Uh, I was recognized by one of the employees of Amsterdam's Centraal train station. No kidding. Hmmmmm. This is when you realize that you're probably not spending enough time at home! An older man, the employee gave me a quizzical look, cocked his head and said, "I've seen you before..." shaking his finger at me. I said, yes, I took this train last week, yadda yadda yadda. He smiled (gotta love Holland: the land where strangers actually smile!) and said, "So, what is it that you do? Just ride the train back and forth between Amsterdam and Frankfurt?" and laughed. I must admit, it was starting to feel that way a little bit! Alas, there couldn't be a nicer, friendlier place to go to, so Amsterdam, made a nice destination for my first time traveling alone in Europe. Not that the trip wasn't without it's embarassing moments and assorted fiascoes, and you know, despite not having any witnesses that can actually out me for being part of aforementioned red-faced moments, I can probably be coaxed to share an anecdote or two....maybe a diet Coke first, though. Stay tuned!