Mr. President

This is so not like me. But I can't help it. Being on the inside during a war has been an incredible experience: fascinating, terrifying, appalling, incredibly sad. And, sometimes, you see things that will anger you in a way that they never have before, particularly when spoken by people who just...don't...seem...to get it. And with that, I must say the following.

Dear Mr. President,

We get it. You enjoy invading other countries. In fact, you've made quite a hobby of it in the last few years. You seem to enjoy this activity, well, almost as much as you enjoy giving big, grandiose speeches and loudly rattling sabers, insinuating to the world that it might please you to topple the government of yet another middle eastern nation. In fact, I just got to see your latest idea of whom to attack broadcast on American tv. And such appropriate timing, sir, it being the start to the Memorial Day weekend, and all.

However, Mr. President, before you launch another invasion or depose the next leader of your choosing, perhaps you should consider cooling off, maybe catching a round of golf. Kick back, read the paper. Or God forbid, spend a quiet moment (or maybe two) considering the people who are charged with carrying out your orders.

While you're at it, take a moment to feel the chills that will run up your spine as you are startled by the first volley of a 21-gun salute while sitting at your desk. It happened to me this week, as another dead soldier was honored, and every hair on my neck stood up. With all due respect, sir, I think the same experience would be of benefit to you. Every life is important, and should not be committed to a cause on a whim. Lacking solid military experience or much in the way of experience with foreign policy, I think ceasing your relentless threats to invade any country that displeases you and just sitting back and enjoying a cold glass of lemonade this weekend would be a really...good... idea. Just sit back, sir. Frankly, we've really got all on our plate that we can handle at the moment.

So, please stop, at least on Memorial Day weekend, Mr. President, to think to whom this weekend is dedicated, past, and present. Between your cold glass of lemonade and your next haughty, authoritative speech, just a suggestion: remember them.

Skiing in Zermatt!

After taking my longest hiatus from posting since I began this blog way back when, I figured our trip to Switzerland last weekend was just the inspiration enough to write something new! We set out to see something new, and to ski, and we definitely did both! We set out driving, and having driven to Chamonix via Switzerland a few weeks ago, we weren't expecting too many surprises...and that's where we were surprised! Guided by our trusty GPS, we were headed to Zermatt...when a boat appeared on the screen. M. said, "What's that?" I didn't think too much of it, and touched the screen. And that's when Ken said, "Take the ferry!" WHAT?! Scrambling for a map, we couldn't figure out why we would need a ferry! Little did we know, we were about to take our first ride through the Lötschberg Bassistunnel! After waiting in line for a few minutes and paying the 20 CHF fare, we gingerly drove our car onto the train and parked single file behind our fellow travelers! Within a few minutes, all the cars were loaded and away we went, rocketing underneath the mountain range in total darkness! A little spooky, for sure! The total ride lasted approximately 25 minutes of that, with 20 minutes spent inside the tunnel...amazing! Apparently, the tunnel is the longest rail tunnel in Europe! Once safely on the other side, we traveled on to Täsch, just below Zermatt. No gasoline powered vehicles are allowed into Zermatt itself, so we checked into our hotel in Täsch, and bought our train tickets to Zermatt and headed up the valley! We roamed around for awhile, did a little shopping and got ourselves some dinner before collapsing back onto the train and heading back to the hotel to rest before our first day of skiing! Saturday came quickly, and up the valley we went again. After a crazy bus ride around town, we caught our first glimpse of the Matterhorn on the way up, up and up the mountain: two cable cars and a gondola ride later, we were skiing on a glacier at nearly 12,000 feet! We were pretty breathless up there, but the snow was too amazing not to enjoy, breathless or not! We skiied to Testa Grigia, on the border between Switzerland and Italy and then down into Italy for lunch. So amazing! We were able to go back the next day on Sunday to see a bit more of Italy and try out some new runs on the Swiss side as well. The scenery was just so big. It was truly amazing and the Swiss people couldn't have been nicer. I love Switzerland, and I think I speak for M., too, when I say we can't wait to go back! Until then, one last look at the Matterhorn: it just doesn't seem real, but it was so amazing!

More Matterhorn!

One more pic from our trip to Zermatt, Switzerland, last weekend: the Matterhorn! The only other time I'd seen this was at Disneyland when I was 9, so I was thoroughly impressed by it...and yes, I have a million photos! But it was truly amazing to see: it definitely stands out! And I couldn't believe that we were actually skiing right near it! Unbelievable! Definitely one of my highlights from this winter...

Christmas 2006

Playing a little bit of catch-up with the blog and recapping things that I didn't get a chance to post earlier...and our Christmas holiday was on that list! Shortly after returning from our visit to Atlanta, the Christmas holidays were upon us. Definitely my favorite time of year in Germany, we were able to visit several of the Christmasmarkets, and ultimately, we decided to head to Prague for the Christmas weekend! It was amazing: both M. and I had visited Prague separately, but this was our first trip together. We loaded up the car, grabbed our passports and away we went! We stayed in the Mala Strana quarter, which was great: very quiet and peaceful, but conveniently connected to the rest of the city via the tram system. Our first full day in Prague, we took a walking tour of the city, which was great: our guide was really fun and it was a great way to see the city. We even stopped for a drink along the way and chatted with a couple from London. And just to prove what a small place Prague really is, we kept running into them and comparing sightseeing notes all weekend! It was really fun: people were in a great mood and we spent time seeing (and laughing at!) the anticlimactic ring of the Astronomical Clock, visiting the Christmasmarket in the Stare Mesto (Old Town) and seeing the sights and shopping in Wenceslas Square. We also went to the Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral and had a wonderful Christmas dinner at Kampa Park near the St. Charles Bridge. It made for a really memorable Christmas: the only place better to spend the holiday would have been at home in the states with family, but failing that, we had a fantastic time and we would definitely do it again!

Mein Geburtstag!

Whoo hoo! Today is mein Geburtstag (my birthday)! M. very sweetly surprised me with a reprise of the lemon cake that we had on my 30th birthday two years ago, when we'd been in Germany for less than a week! We had no idea where to go for my birthday dinner, much less where to get a piece of cake, which I was craving! So, we wound up at an Aral station (a gas station...but with a fancier grocery section than you would normally expect in the US) where I picked out a Zitronenkuchen for my birthday. And so, we had another one this year, purchased at the very same Aral for my birthday! And, even better, for my birthday outing, we decided to go to the Frankfurt Christmas market this evening, which was fantastic! (That's a picture of it above!) I went last year with friends, but this was M.'s first time. We wandered a bit before stopping for a dinner of bratwurst and pommes frites...then more shopping and an a doner as a post-dinner snack for M.! I got to do some Christmas ornament shopping and M. selected this year's ornament for our tree. We even had time to do a little shopping for family, too, so all in all it was a successful trip and lots of fun! This is truly, truly my favorite time of year in Germany, without a doubt. And the weather was actually very good to do the Weinachtsmarkt: right around 40 degrees, although, we decided it was time to go home when it started to sprinkle. So, now, we're tying up last minute loose ends and finishing up packing before we catch our flight home tomorrow! So, we can't wait to get back to the states and for all of you who are Georgia-bound, we'll see you soooon!

Happy, happy Thanksgiving!

Now this year, this year, I must say that I so have truly, so very, very much to be thankful for! I am so grateful for the love and support of all of our friends and family. And with M.'s return, I have just that much more to celebrate, as every single day, I wake up and feel so grateful to have him back in Germany and back by my side. Each day that he is here truly sweeter than the last. And for that, I am most thankful! So, without further ado, wherever you are, and however you are spending your holiday, I hope your Thanksgiving is a happy and healthy one, and thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for all your support and love this past year and every year!

Failte go Chiarri!

Sorry for the sporadic posting...things have been, a bit crazy around here, but fortunately, the craziness recently included a fun trip to Ireland with friends! We flew to the Kerry airport last Friday (that was our welcome above, written in Gaelic, or Irish, that I couldn't resist reprinting here: Failte go Chiarri...welcome to Kerry!) There, we rented a car and stayed on the Dingle Peninsula over the long weekend with our friends, M. and B. to celebrate B.'s 30th birthday. And I'm happy to report that the verdict on Ireland is an enthusiastic two thumbs up, although my brain is still sore from trying to process riding in a car that was traveling on the wrong side of the road...I just could not seem to make that look right in my head! M. was constantly having to hold me back from walking in front of traffic...because I kept looking the wrong way when crossing the street! But, he successfully preventing me from being run over, thus allowing me to bring you our observations from Ireland without further ado! One of the nicest parts of the trip was that the people were absolutely fantastic: incredibly unassuming and friendly. For M. and I, adjusting to Germany has been a challenge, as it's not at all customary to speak to strangers with whom you have no direct business (seriously: offering up a 'morgen' or 'hallo' as you pass a stranger on the street is enough to elicit a confused stare or, more often, a glare in return.) So, it was wonderful to be approached by complete strangers who wanted to know where we were from, to chat, or even help us remember the rules to spades (yes! we played TONS of cards while we in Ireland!) when things like rules became, um, foggy in the haze of all the glasses of Smithwicks, Harp and Guinness that crossed our paths. One evening, we were invited to share a pub table by Noreen, a girl from Cork County and her Polish boyfriend, Mario, who were in town for the weekend as well. Mario was formerly in the Polish Army, and had been stationed in southern Germany several years ago, so we talked a little bit that and we also tried (tried being the operative word!) to get Noreen to teach us some Irish, which flustered her terribly as she explained that while it's common to find people in the southwest (like Dingle) who still speak Irish, that for people like her, from Cork, the language is something that's generally learned in school...and quickly forgotten! And, she also told us that it is commonly referred to as Irish, rather than Gaelic, which I think surprised all of us. Over the weekend, we met several people who spoke it well, and one man who was in town visiting his young daughter who had come to Dingle to attend a boarding school specifically to improve her Irish. So, all in all, I found people to be exceptionally outgoing and friendly, which made the trip that much more fun. As an added bonus, we had lots of really great meals (and even better Guinness!) while in Dingle, which was a big (and very pleasant!) surprise! I guess my expectation of cuisine in Ireland wasn't all that high, but the food really was terrific, and I came home (ugh!) weighing just a little bit more than I did when I left! But, the extra miles on the treadmill will be well worth it, I'm sure: we're barely home and already contemplating when we will be able to make a return trip! Wonderful, wonderful place, Ireland. So, that's the skinny on our weekend: hope yours was wonderful, too!