Ich liebe Deutschland

I’ve recently come under fire for my infrequent blogging. The majority of the hounding comes from my mom (hi Mom!), but it’s nice to know people actually occasionally read what I write!

I’ve been in Germany since Wednesday. I just got home late last night, so back to regular blogging for a couple weeks.

I flew into Köln to spend some time with my friend Judith. I know her from America, where she was an exchange student in my hometown for what was probably a seriously long and boring year in the sticks from 2004-2005. My family kind of adopted her and we’ve been in touch ever since. She met me for a weekend in Berlin last month. That was the first time I’ve seen her since she came to visit me in Italy in 2006.

A weekend in Berlin was not enough time to catch up- I’m so glad I made the voyage to Treis, a tiny little village about an hour from Frankfurt. Guys, it makes Dublin (my small hometown) look huge! But the cool thing about Treis was that it was surrounded by other towns and there were things to do. It was a cozy kind of town with bakeries and ice cream parlors all over the place.  Like all of the rest of Germany, it was clean, green, and beautiful.

I got there Wednesday afternoon. Thursday we went to Frankfurt with one of her friends, which was really cool. We went up to the top of the Main Tower and got a great panoramic view of the city. Then we headed to the pedestrian zone and stumbled upon a pretty huge market. Being the wonderful hostess that she was, Judith insisted that I try all of the German food specialties at the market. We literally went from tent to tent tasting delicious German food and beverages. 

Friday we went to Heidelberg. This was probably my favorite day. Despite getting up at the crack of dawn-no, seriously, before the crack, even- it was an amazing day. In a semi-successful attempt to avoid Friday afternoon traffic, we left home at 7 and made it to Heidelberg around 9. It was an old historic town with cobblestone streets, a gorgeous lake and bridge, and a castle with an amazing view.

 

We made it back in time to get ready for dinner with Judith’s family. Having no idea where we were going, I didn’t really have expectations. But this dinner was one of the most amazing meals I’ve ever eaten in my life. Apple wine (local specialty) was flowing like water. They just kept refilling the glasses. The restaurant was out in the country and we sat outside on a porch under a huge tree with Christmas lights and lanterns strung around in the branches. Judith’s parents decided I needed to try all the German specialties and ordered every single appetizer on the menu. It came out on an enormous platter, and everything was delicious. 

As for the main entrée, I had no idea what I was ordering and I was sure everything would be good. I got a basic rundown of all the entrees from Judith and her sister (German menus), but I couldn’t remember what everything was, so when it came time to order I just pointed at something.

Good choice. Whatever it was…

And apple strudel with vanilla sauce and ice cream for dessert. I was pretty sure they were going to have to roll me out of that place. Eventually I managed to get myself out of the chair and trudge to the car where I sprawled out across the backseat.

Saturday was also great. We laid around and did nothing for the first half of the day. Then we had a big barbecue. Judith’s boyfriend was really excited about grilling…what is it with men and barbecue? Apparently he’s the grill master. He got a new set of barbecue tongs for his birthday and he was carrying them around all afternoon, pacing around the grill. 

Fleisch! ["meat" in German]

Saturday night we went to Monkey’s, a dance club (YES! DANCE CLUB!). I know I have said many times that I don’t dance, but it was 90’s night…the temptation was too much to resist. We met 4 of her friends there and it was so much fun. When I expressed my concern to Judith about my (lack of) dancing skills, she said “It’s ok. It’s 90’s music so you don’t actually have to be able to dance.”

Very true. 

90's night! So hot and crowded in there!

 

So that’s a pretty long rundown of the past few days. Other great news is that I got a card reader for my camera, so I can post some way overdue pics!

 

Cannes Film Festival-Red carpet

Grasse, France- Rose Festival