Stompin' Around...

Our goal for the past weekend was to have a low key weekend, considering the past few weekends have been packed full of events. The only thing we had planned was going to a performance of STOMP! on Sunday (or so we thought! :)) in Austria that we had purchased tickets for and Brian's Poker Game with his colleague's on Sunday evening. Other than that, our weekend was completely open... So, Friday night was spent at home, with some of our favorite items from the Farmer's Market for dinner, reruns of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, and a viewing of the movie, "The Tillman Story"... Very low key! :) Saturday morning we awoke to a bright, sunny day... So, our first thought was to take a walk down by the lake to take advantage of the gorgeous weather... We headed out for our walk with Brian's camera in tow. We spent the next couple of hours wandering around and exploring little nooks and crannies. We eventually stopped at the Strandbad (our local beach) to stroll around and soak up the sunshine... Well, actually I strolled around while Brian took pictures! :)

After our carefree morning of wandering aimlessly around the area, we headed home. Our plan was to head to the grocery store to pick up the necessary supplies for the dinner we were planning... Roasted vegetable lasagna... YUM!! :) Well, upon walking into the door of our house, we heard our friend, Maciek, call down to us from his apartment upstairs... He informed us that our friend, Thorsten, was desperately trying to get ahold of us... He had plans to pick us up for STOMP! at 2... Now, remember, we thought the performance was on Sunday! :) I told Maciek that Thorsten must be confused as the performance was the following day... But, Maciek was determined that Thorsten said the performance was that afternoon... At which point, I ran into our apartment to check the email Thorsten had sent me when he purchased the tickets... And, sure enough, our tickets were for Saturday at 4 p.m.... Yikes!!! (Before I go any further, let me explain the "mishap"... Originally we were trying to buy tickets for the Sunday performances, but at the last minute, Thorsten found cheaper tickets for the Saturday afternoon performance and purchased those instead... He sent me the information in an email, which I did read... But, for some reason, I couldn't get Sunday out of my head... That was the problem! :) Needless to say, I felt like a complete jackass when I realized my mistake!! So, please tell me that other people have done this at one time or another?! :))We then asked Maciek what time Thorsten said he was going to be there, and we were told again that he was coming at 2 to pick us up... We looked at the clock and realized we literally had 15 minutes to get ready... Whoa!! Needless to say, we managed to get ourselves ready by the time Thorsten arrived at our house that afternoon, but it was definitely a little chaotic! :)

After all of that confusion, we ended up arriving at the Festspielhaus on time and the show was absolutely amazing!! Afterwards, we ran into some friends and joined them for a drink in the lounge... At which point, all of the dancers arrived in the lounge for dinner (they were scheduled for another performance at 8 p.m.)... So, we got to "hang out" with the dancers after the show (I don't know if "hang out" is the correct word... We actually looked more like groupies as we proceeded to stare at them as they sat at their table eating! :) We would have approached them, but they had alot of security and assistants around them... Also, being that Brian is much more shy than I am, he often gets uncomfortable when I go up to random strangers and engage them in conversation, which I tend to do alot! So, I opted to keep my mouth shut and stare from a distance! :))... Either way, it turned out to be a great Saturday... Definitely spontaneous! :) And, to top it off, we ended up not having to make dinner when we got home... Maciek took care of that and cooked up a delicious fish dinner for all of us that evening! Yum!! What a great neighbor he is!! :)

Our Sunday ended up being just as hectic... We decided to head to Salem on Sunday afternoon to check out their Fasnet parade... The parade was quite fun (as they all typically are! :)) and we enjoyed spending the afternoon participating in this fun festival while taking advantage of another beautiful, sunny day!! (Although, there was one thing that Brian and I realized during this parade... As much as we've grown to love the German culture, the one thing we will NEVER grow accustomed to is their lack of personal space or, even worse, how they behave in crowds... It's simply atrocious!! As much as I hate to say this, I would compare their behavior in crowds to that of animals... Their behavior is so far from that of a civilized human being!! It's absolutely ridiculous!!)

After the parade, we ran back to the train (literally! :)) so that we could get Brian back in time for his Poker game... Meanwhile, I hung out at home and enjoyed a nice, quiet, relaxing evening of calling home and watching an episode of Bones! :)

So, all in all, our plans for a relaxing evening didn't actually pan out, but in the end, even with all the random chaos, we had a fun-filled weekend! :) Who knows... Maybe next weekend will be a little more low-key? But, then again, knowing us... I highly doubt it! ;)

The beginning of our walk on Saturday morning.... Look at that sunshine! :)

The Strandbad...

Since we wander down to the Strandbad on a pretty regular basis, we thought it fitting to get a photo of us there! :)

At one point, I started to get a little antsy while waiting for Brian to take pictures... So, being that there was so much wide open green space tempting me, I opted to do a few cartwheels! :) Looks like all of those years of dance, cheerleading, and gymnastics paid off... Thanks Mom and Dad! :)

Brian taking pictures of his shadow... :)

I enjoyed soaking up the sun and the view while Brian took pictures... :)

As I sat there, I realized that we would be moving back to the U.S. in a few more months, and it made me realize how much I'm going to miss it here... So, at that point, I think I was trying to imprint every last detail (from the view to the smell to the sounds) into my brain! :)

The view from the trail by our house... Gorgeous!!

More views from the trail...

It's definitely a beautiful area to live in!! :)

A view of the beach by our house...

The STOMP! stage...

Brian managed to get one picture of the performance... Although, it's rather fuzzy as we couldn't use the flash! :)

Brian and I after the performance... I have to admit, we cleaned up pretty well in only 15 minutes! :)

A couple of the groups walking in the Salem parade were wearing costumes we've never seen before... Some of them were pretty impressive, while others were just a little bit creepy! :)

I love the brightly colored chickens, but these chickens were rather creepy!!

Two characters having a conversation about where to put the shredded paper... Some poor spectator got it in their hair! :)

This hexen was playing with this little boy (who had actually finished walking in the parade as a hexen himself)! :)

A unicorn...

Can't say I've ever seen anything like this before!! Some of the characters were carrying ladders and they would lean them up against a house, and then climb up and enter through the window... Craziness!! The two women in this house were actually trying to close the window in an effort to keep this character out!! :)

He made it inside! :)

We've never seen this costume in any other parades... They called themselves the Brotessers (Bread eaters)! :)

Baa, Baa, Black Sheep?? :)

The Seegockel... Still my favorite! :)

Another unfortunate spectator! :)

This poor girl (you can't really see her laying on this board) was grabbed by this group of carpenters, where they proceeded to shove handfuls of sawdust down her pant legs... I can't even imagine how uncomfortable that must be!!

They released her, and as soon as she stood up, the sawdust started pouring out of her pantlegs! :)

These characters carry a plant (as seen above) that they will wipe on you as they walk by... It leaves behind a big mess of lint-like fuzzy pieces that are very difficult to get off!!

This was the first time we've seen the dragon costume... Very cute! :)

This is a cool shot...

This "hexen" finished walking in the parade and then decided to stay and watch... Here he is with his mask off and resting on his back.

One of my new favorites!

This was our first time seeing this costume, which is part of an Uberlingen group... Very cute! :)

How Rude!!

The German public transportation system is typically very good, in my opinion. You can get to pretty much an destination using the bus and train system, they are usually very efficient, and they're extremely easy to use. Prior to moving to Germany, I would never have considered using buses (especially not after my one Spring Break adventure on Greyhound! :)) and trains as a mode of transportation... Now, I can't imagine not using them to get from point A to point B! My how things have changed! :)

Since we moved here 2 1/2 years ago, I've never had a complaint about the German public transportation system... That is, until just the other day... That's when my opinion slightly changed!

My friend, Denise, and I went over to visit our friend Anna... We had plans for a "Girl's Night In" of sorts... You know, eating junk food, watching a "chick flick", and enjoying some girl talk! :) Being that we didn't want to drive there and worry about finding parking spaces and whatnot, we opted to take the bus. The ride there was pretty uneventful... A very typical bus ride in Germany! :)

We arrived at Anna's house and proceeded to have a very fun evening just chatting away and enjoying each other's company. Now, the last bus of the night was scheduled to leave from the bus stop up the road at 10:45... Being that it took only 5 minutes to walk there, Denise and I decided to leave 10 minutes ahead of schedule so that we would give ourselves more than enough time to get there. We said our goodbyes to Anna, and proceeded to head out... We made it to the end of Anna's street, turned left, and started walking up to the bus stop... As we were walking, we noticed a bus heading towards us... We quickly realized it was the bus we needed to take to get home! It seemed rather odd considering we still had 7 more minutes before the bus was scheduled to arrive... We picked up our pace a little bit at that point in time... And, when we realized that it didn't look like the bus was slowing down, we proceeded to jump up and down on the sidewalk, yelling and waving to get the bus driver's attention (I'm sure we looked like quite a pair as we were jumping around like maniacs on a sidewalk at 10:30 at night! :)).

As the bus came closer, we just knew that he would see us trying to get it's attention, slow down and pick us up... Especially considering that it was too early... At that point we still had 5 minutes to get to the stop! Did the driver end up doing that, you ask... Nope!! The driver proceeded to look at us as he drove right on by!! Yep, not only was he the last bus of the night... But, he came through EARLY and then refused to pick us up, when it was quite obvious that we were trying to catch that bus... Seriously!! Who does that?!

But, then to top it off and make matters worse... After he passed us, he began to slow down for the "Yield" sign at the end of the street... Denise and I then thought that perhaps he was slowing down and waiting for us... So, we turned around and ran as fast as we could towards the bus... Only to have him pull away as we approached!! What a complete jerk!! Needless to say, at that point in time, Denise and I were completely speechless. All we could do was stare at each other completely stunned! :) I mean, who would do such a mean thing?? He literally came through the stop too early, drove past us knowing that we were trying to get him to stop for us, and left us stranded... Nice!!

So, when all was said and done, we had to go back to Anna's house and explain our situation... And, thankfully she and her boyfriend, Trond, were sweet enough to drive Denise and I home that evening. :)

Even though we had a good end to the evening and we were able to get home safe and sound, I'm still completely annoyed at that bus driver! As is Denise, who is determined to write a scathing letter to the transportation authorities... Go, Denise! :) In the meantime, since my German is not quite up to par to write a scathing letter, my plan is to completely boycott the German busses! That'll show them!! (Granted, it is for only 5 1/2 more months until we move back to the U.S.! But, still... :)) From here on out, I'm sticking to the trains! :)

Skis and Motorcycles = A Random Combination...

Happy Groundhog Day! Wow... I can't believe it's already February!! Why is it that time always seems to fly by the fastest, when you're wishing for the exact opposite?! For instance, Brian and I only have about 6 more months left of living here in Germany... And, we're trying to pack as much into those 6 months as humanly possible! :) And with the way time is flying by, we'll be back in the U.S. in the blink of an eye... We're just hoping that it'll slow down enough so that we can truly enjoy all of these wonderful experiences and time with friends that we've been blessed with over here...

Speaking of wonderful experiences, we were able to head back to Schruns for another fun-filled day of skiing last Saturday... Yay! The weather was great, blue skies and sunshine, and the skiing conditions were pretty good as well (although the week before was a little better in my opinion)... All in all, it made for a fabulous day of skiing! :) I even found myself a little more relaxed this time around... I actually went down a red run (intermediate slope) with no fear or problems (well, minus the one wipe out which I had to do in order not to take out a small child next to me! :)), and when I reached the bottom is when I realized my accomplishment! :) (For those of you that don't already know, my favorite type of skiing consists of going down the easy slopes, rather slow and very controlled! :) Typically, I never attempt going down any slopes that are rated higher than "easy"! :) So, a red slope for me is quite a big deal!) Who knows... Based on that experience, if I continue skiing every week, I may just be able to get down the easy slope at a faster rate by the end of the season... And by faster rate, I mean instead of taking 30 minutes to get to the bottom, it might only take me 25! :) Baby steps... :)

After our day of skiing on Saturday, we opted to stay indoors on Sunday and head to the Motorradwelt (Motorcycle show) at the Messe... We went to it last year, and we decided to head back again this year to see what they had to offer. Plus, Brian was ready for a motorcycle fix... He really misses his! :) So, we spent the afternoon looking at motorcycles and watching some of the demonstrations... Brian and Maciej were totally enthralled by all the bikes!! I, on the other hand, found it interesting for the first hour, and then for the remaining time I wandered around aimlessly looking at all of the clothes and motorcycle gear they were selling there... Go figure! :) I did manage to find myself a very cute pink helmet... Which I did not end up getting as Brian just laughed at me when I said that I "needed" it because it matched my pink motorcycle jacket! :) Can you tell where my priorities are?! :)

Overall, it was a great weekend! Although, as always, it went by way too fast! :) On that note, I'm off to the gym... I hope you all have a happy Groundhog Day... Let's hope that Punxatawney Phil doesn't see his shadow this year... I'm ready for spring! :) But, judging by the weather forecasts we've seen for the U.S. today, I'm thinking that with that amount of snow, Punxatawney Phil might just stay underground! :) For those of you that are involved in the Snowpacalypse (the media has turned this into such a hype... ridiculous!)... Stay warm, stay off the roads, and stay safe! :)

A perfect day for skiing! :)

Brian and I heading up on the lift... Yep, we literally took a picture of our shadows! :)

Passing by the avalanche barriers...

The two of us getting ready for another fun-filled day of skiing in the Alps... :)

Brian and Maciej getting ready to hit the slopes...

Brian actually took his camera with him this time around, so he was able to get some good action shots of Maciej and I skiing... Unfortunately, since he's the one behind the lens, he didn't get too many of himself. :( And, being that I'm not the most confident skier in the world, I had a hard time offering to ski down the hill ahead of Brian, with all of the camera equipment strapped to my back, so that I could get some action shots of him... If that were to happen, I'm pretty sure there wouldn't be much of a camera left to even take pictures once I reached the bottom of the hill! :) I don't quite trust myself on skies all that much! :)

On another note, I'm quite impressed with this picture Brian captured of me skiing! :) It makes me look like I've got some good speed going on... When in reality, I ski so slow that I could probably walk down the slope faster... Well, not exactly that slow, but you get the point! :)

A shot of my favorite run at Schruns... It's a nice, gradual slope and it's got quite a stunning view... Love it!!

Brian showing off his fabulous skiing skills! :)

And here's Maciej mid jump... Show off! :)

And, yet another picture where I look like I know what I'm doing on skis! :)

Love the view!!

Just another typical scene from Austria... Oh, how I love it there! :)

Brian checking out one of the bikes at the Motorcycle Show on Sunday... Look at that smile! :)

This bike is on Maciej's wish list! :)

They had some demonstrations and races going on in a few of the halls... Here's a few shots from them...

This guy is rather bright! :)

Brian found his future bike... And it's even got a comfy seat on the back for me! :)

There was a very wide variety of clientele at the show... This guy had a rather interesting ensemble on! :)