October 21

Yesterday was beautiful. It was sunny, cold and a perfect fall day (although a little colder than I like). I had a lot on my mind, and I wanted to go for a walk. I was actually surprised by the sunshine, because it's been pretty rainy the past couple days. Even today, it's not sunny. It's cold, cloudy and 32 degrees. Brrrrr....

But yesterday was a perfect day for a walk.

Sunny and cold

Street by my house

I love this building.

Loving the leaves

It's been two years since we had to put Lacey down and the weather yesterday was just like the weather on October 21, 2008. I remember coming home from teaching and it was the most gorgeous fall day. The sun was shinning and the leaves were changing color. We went outside with Lacey before the vet came to our house. It was one of the last beautiful days we had, because a few days later the rain came and didn't stop.

I love you Lacey and will miss you forever. You were the best dog in the world.

Love her

Dad and Lacey

My beautiful puppy

She loved being outside.

Catching a few rays on the deck.

Mom and Lacey

Translating queen

I am getting so good at translating - well, on google.com/translate that is. My German is coming along but very slowly. I was actually going to use the second part of my break to work on my German but that hasn't happened yet. I've gotten a lot done though - wrote a lot of post cards (but I need to find stamps!), caught up on the blog, cleaned, did a little shopping and bought a washer and dryer! 

Thankfully the woman helping me spoke English and was able to point me in the direction of the washers and dryers on sale. I got a pretty good deal and they had free delivery. They were delivered yesterday and I have spent today doing my laundry. I'm on the 5th floor of my building and my washer and dryer are in the creepy cellar. Lots of stairs to walk up and down, but that's one reason why I opted to get a washer and a dryer, rather than one machine that could do it all. This way, I can get more done at the same time. Washers here are slow. They are very energy efficient, but the quickest cycle is still an hour and a half. This way, I can throw something in the washer and have clothes drying at the same time - especially if I have to walk up and down those stairs! I spent yesterday Google translating parts of the manuals so I would know how to use the machines!  So far, my laundry is coming out clean...let's hope it continues.

I also finished putting together my TV stand. Right now it holds my laptop, but a friend from school is giving me their old TV when we go back after holiday. It took longer than it should have (and I mean weeks longer) because I had the wrong size screw drivers. I finally found a big screw driver and was able to get it put together. It fits perfectly and makes my apartment feel a little more like home.

It's finished!!

Added my books and a picture frame

Home sweet home

The Dam

It was a last minute decision to go to Amsterdam, and I LOVED it! We had talked about just continuing our holiday after Croatia and figured why not?? We flew back into Frankfurt in the early afternoon and since Ashley had driven to the airport, we decided to  leave straight from there. Apparently while we were in Croatia, winter decided to come early. Stepping off the plane wearing cropped yoga pants and flip flops, I was FREEZING. I think it was 3 degrees or so (Celsius) and I was not prepared. After piling our luggage into the car and jumping in to get warm, we found that Ashley's car wouldn't start. Hayley and I thought we could push the car down the parking lot hill and maybe Ashley could get it started that way. It was probably a pretty hilarious sight watching the two of us try to push her VW around the airport parking lot. Nothing was working and we were about to make the long walk back to the terminal when a nice guy that worked for Avis or some car rental company stopped and asked if we needed help. We were pretty sure the battery was dead so he was kind enough to jump the car and it worked. Thankfully we were up and running and could continue on our way to Amsterdam. 

The drive was pretty - we saw a lot of the German country side and occasional cute little towns off in the distance with gorgeous chapels in the center. Once we crossed the border into the Netherlands, we had only an hour and a half to go. I was intrigued by the creative architecture of so many buildings and bridges. In a way, these cities we passed through (and even Amsterdam) reminded me of Portland. I don't know if it was just how rainy and green it was, or the cleanliness, or the structure of the city and roads, but whatever it was, it felt a little more like home. By the time we arrived, it was pretty late at night. We got to our hotel, changed and walked to the tram station to head into the center of town. We were starving, and really excited to be in Amsterdam.

Hayley and I at the tram station -  yay Amsterdam!

We got off the tram in the center of town and wandered around to find some place open. Surprisingly, there were several restaurants still open at 10pm. We had just been talking about our cravings for Mexican food. So far, I haven't been able to find it in Frankfurt. Even the salsa in the "foreign" section of the grocery store isn't good - it's sweet instead of spicy. Gross. We stumbled upon a cute little Mexican restaurant, and I don't know if it was just because we were starving, but the food was some of the best Mexican food I've ever had. The sangria was delicious as well!

Delicious sangria

After dinner, we walked around and took some pictures of the coffee shops, cafes and canals. We found the best desert too - waffles warmed up and covered in chocolate sauce and walnuts. YUM! We had been traveling all day and by this time it was past midnight, so we deiced to head back to the hotel for sleep.

Bob Marley Coffee Shop - loved the music :)

Amsterdam at night

Amsterdam canal

We woke up to the sound of rain pounding the pavement. It was our only full day in Amsterdam and we were determined to make the best of it. I really wanted to see Anne Frank's house and although there was a line, it wasn't too long. Ashley didn't want to wait in the line, so we thought we'd try back later in the evening. Unfortunately, by the time we got around to it, the museum had closed. There are a ton of touristy things to do in Amsterdam that I think would be worthwhile to do - you'd get to see a lot of the city, hear about the history and have some explanation of why certain things are important. It was really fun traveling with Ashley and Hayley and we had a great time, but I think we had different agendas when we got to Amsterdam. Ashley has a car, so it's obviously easier for her to come back whenever she wants. I don't think she thought about the fact that Hayley lives in Canada and I can't just jump in my non-existent car to come back whenever I want. At one point, it started POURING down rain.  I had left my umbrella in my backpack and thought I would be fine with my rain jacket, but at that point, I ran into a shop and paid 6 euros too much for an umbrella. I suggested doing the boat tours in the canal to get out of the rain, but they wanted to duck into C&A (a clothing store we have in Germany). It was fine, and we ended up seeing a lot of things, but definitely didn't get to do or see everything I wanted. There is the Van Gough museum and a bunch of other museums. The Royal Palace was open, but the outside was under cover - some sort of work was being done. Out of luck we wandered to a main square in Amsterdam, but I just felt like I would have gotten more out of the sights if we had gone on some sort of tour. I would love to go back to Amsterdam - there is a lot to do and see and it can't all be done in one day.

On the walk past Anne Frank's house

Another coffee shop

Rainy day in Amsterdam

A main square we stumbled upon

Lots of museums

The palace on the left - covered up!

Getting out of the rain for a bit

Red Light District

Loved the cobblestones and brick buildings!

Friday was a long day - we did a lot of walking and sightseeing. Our feet were tired and we were soaked. After grabbing some food, we headed back to the hotel with a bottle of wine. It felt good to get in our warm clothes, watch some TV and relax. We woke up Saturday, ate breakfast at the hotel and then headed home. Not only was the weather horrendous on the drive home, but there was construction all over the place. It took us a couple hours longer to get home, but eventually we made it. I had a great time on our holiday and am so glad we decided to go to Amsterdam too!

My home (away from home)

I know some of you have been asking to see pictures of my apartment and the area. The time has come - I finally took pictures. More to come later when there are actual pictures on the walls and it looks like a home. It's still a work in progress.

I did, however, just purchase my first German washer and dryer. It is being delivered tomorrow, and I no longer will have to do my laundry at school! Yea! Only once did the kitchen ladies find a pair of my underwear mixed in with their tea towels -- oops! Yes, that was a little embarrassing.

Here are some pictures of Frankfurt. Before we left for Croatia, we took a boat tour down the Main River. It was a beautiful, sunny, fall day.

Walking along the river.

Lots of people out enjoying the beautiful weather.

On the boat tour. This is a pedestrian bridge from downtown to Sachsenhausen.

Beautiful church

The city

More city

I also took some pictures of the outside of my building and inside. I live on Rothchildallee, which is a main street but is very close to the Berger Strasse (good shopping, bars and restaurants) as well as Friedberger Landstrasse which is the main road I would take to get downtown. The area I live in is sort of similar to where I lived in Portland - down off 21st. There is a lot to do in the area and it's all very walkable. I can walk to the city center and it takes only 15 or so minutes. I'm close to public transportation - the tram, the bus and the S-bahn. So far I'm loving the location, although I do live in a little "Anne-Frank" type apartment. It's on the 5th floor - lots of stairs and it's kind of funky and unique. It's got some weird beams that are in stupid places and one wall is very slanted, but I like it. It's slowly becoming home. More pictures will come later...especially of the living room. It's a disaster right now as I try to put together my TV stand.

My front door

Walkway looking towards the main street

Front of my building

Backyard

Rolly-cart thing in my kitchen so I have more storage and workspace.

Tiny, tiny kitchen. Three of my drawers look like they open, but they don't. haha

Part of my bedroom - dresser and shoe rack

nightstand

 

Bedroom - crazy pole is in the way but the bed fits :)

Living room before furniture. There is a couch and a semi-put together tv stand in there right now. The window opens up and pushes out to make a little balcony which I LOVE!

Kitchen before I moved in. The stairs are by the white railing that I walk down to get to the door to my apartment.

Anyways, more pictures later. Enjoy!

Fall Break has arrived!

I am in the middle of my second week of fall break and LOVING every minute of it. It does seem like I get a lot of time off to travel, and I do, but we don't get any other days off. We have our first staff development day in November. We have had 5 day weeks since the start of school in August! It's been hard not having any three or four day weeks, even if they would be because of staff development days or teacher work days. This break was needed big time - for me and for my kids. Eight full weeks is a long time to go. We get a two week October break, three week winter break, two week Easter break and then six weeks or so in the summer. There are a few more holidays thrown in after the New Year, and for some reason June is full of them, but that's a long time to wait.


Anyways, I have definitely taken advantage of my break. I traveled to Croatia with my friend Ashley from work and her from Hayley who was visiting from Canada. On our first Monday of break, we left for Pula, Croatia which is at the southern tip of the Istira peninsula. If you look at a map, it's pretty much across the Adriatic Sea from Italy - kind of near the top of the "boot". We found a pretty cheap flight on Ryanair and a good deal on a hotel. It is the "off season" now, but only just within the last couple weeks. We did think there would be more people, and some restaurants and bars were actually closed. Nevertheless, we had a wonderful time walking around, exploring the city and the Roman monuments.


The Pula Arena is the amphitheater in Pula. It's the sixth largest surviving Roman arena in the world. It's on of the best preserved ancient monuments in Croatia, and it was incredible to see. Apparently they have concerts and shows inside sometimes - they'll set up seats and a stage. We were able to walk around inside and underneath the area where they would have kept the fighters and the animals.

We also took a boat ride one day around the islands off the coast. It was a gorgeous day and perfect weather.

View of the arena as we are leaving the bay.

Lighthouse

The water was amazingly calm. It was beautiful too. There weren't bag waves at all, and I was thankful for that, because 5 hours on a little boat could have the potential to make me sick! We ate lunch on the boat and then stopped at an island for a couple hours for people to swim, walk around or get food or drinks.

Enjoying the sunshine!

Ashley and Hayley walking back towards our boat.

Hayley, Ashley and me on our boat.

That was an amazing day - relaxing in the sun, sightseeing, and meeting people from all over on the boat. We talked with a woman from Australia who had just been to Ireland. Hearing her stories has peaked my interest even more - perhaps I might have to stop by Dublin for New Years Eve :)

The rest of our time in Pula was spent walking around, admiring the old buildings and checking out more Roman monuments (and of course eating delicious food and drinking incredible wine). In one of the main squares there was a Roman arch and in another there was a Roman temple. It was truly incredible to be standing on the steps and touching monuments that are so old and survived weather, people and wars!

One of the common squares in Pula - lots of restaurants and cafes.

Standing on the steps of the Temple of Augustus.

 The Arch of the Sergii was originally a city gate and was constructed in 27 BC.

The water was absolutely gorgeous in Croatia. If it had been just a bit warmer, I would have gone swimming. Of course I had to dip my feet in though!

Hayley and I standing on the dock by our hotel.

On a walk along the water - soooo pretty!

View of the area from a restaurant by our hotel.

Some people might ask "Why Croatia?" Honestly, it was never at the top of my list. I would have gone to Italy, Ireland and Spain before ever thinking Croatia. Ashley has a friend from Croatia and had always wanted to go. She found a cheap flight (15 euros round trip!) and a cheap hotel on the coast, so we figured why not?! I don't think Croatia is a place I would ever want to live, but it sure is eye-opening, interesting, and full of history. If you ever go, you have to eat lots of their olive oil and drink lots of their wine. We had some amazing food and definitely enjoyed ourselves.

Nice view of the Alps on our flight back to Frankfurt!