a list of things

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Bear and I are heading back to the States for a few months this weekend - after some recent events, I realized how much we needed to be back there to be with family and give my soul a much needed rest.  While driving to meet some friends the other day, I got really excited about some things that I had missed from home in the almost 9 months since moving to Germany. Namely:

• Kombucha
• stores open on Sunday
• a yard for Bear
• Television + movies in English
• being able to watch YouTube (darn you GEMA)
• lack of a 19% VAT tax
• not having to drive 40 mins to see friends
• going shopping 
• T.J.Maxx & Target
• free Wi-Fi!
• having a reliable car
• family
• being able to read labels in stores
• not having to check conversion rates (instantly followed by a feeling of depression)

But then I realized there's a lot I'm also going to miss

• not having to worry if your food has GMOs in it
• not having to worry if your meat has growth hormones and antibiotics in it
• alcohol not having a negative connotation 
• the autobahn and lack of a speed limit (my lead foot will miss this the most)
• the ice cream, coffee and baked goods
• taking Bear into restaurants / clothing stores / etc. and no one being afraid of him
• feeling enjoyment in the smallest things: i.e.: while I may not being able to read labels in stores, I am sure as heck able to sing along with Justin Timberlake or Lady Gaga playing on the speakers in perfect English.  Small victories.

I've been frustrated a lot with our situation of late, mainly because the distance (from friends here, from family in the states and from my husband 3,00 miles the other direction) has made life pretty boring.  We're ready to go home, and I can't wait. 

Sweet Salzburg

You all have been so patient with me as I start my  new volunteer job over here all while still getting settled into the new house.  So, without further ado, the Salzburg round up!

First stop was the Augustiner Brauhaus  (we really just went to the hotel to drop off our bags, then took a taxi to the monastery)

a wall of beer steins greets you upon entry

the front of the brewery

Just like the Kreutzberg monastery, this is a larger Austrian version that also brews beers.  Wonderful!

happiness is a cold beer with good friends!

Then we went off to explore the idyllic town streets

small and quaint, featuring such unique boutiques as Zara and H&M.

and we happened upon the "theater in the square" series where you could sit below the Festung Hohensalzburg and watch a theatre production while drinking a glass of wine.  

On our way back to the hotel, we realized as we were crossing the Salzach river, just how amazing the view was from where we were standing.  Since we're typical American tourists, we snapped a picture.

Next day we embarked for our awesome Sound of Music tour, which I highlighted here.  Cheesy? yes; absurdly fun? but of course!  Fun fact:  60-year old women who have waited their whole lives to take THIS tour will get very irritated with you if you do not sing along with Julie Andrews and co. on the bus tour.  I only this week finally got "Do Rae Me" from playing on constant repeat on my head. 

The mansion behind us may look familiar to you...

After the excursion de Von Trapp, we went and visited the Museum der Moderne, on the top of a mountain overlooking Salzburg.  There was a wonderful resturant attached to the museum where one of my cravings was finally satiated:  Kombucha!!  I failed to see it offered in Germany, but lo-and-behold, there it was sitting plain as day on a menu in a random restaurant in Austria.  I later found out that they mix it with everything and drink it from wine glasses - how very European.  Mission "Find the Darn Kombucha in Germany" has officially begun.   

view from Museum der Modern

The evening in Salzburg was wrapped up with a piano concert highlighting homeboy Mozart's sonatas.  The pianist was quite devoted to her craft, even coming back for 3 "mini-encore" performances.  I guess if you're going to perform Mozart, you best do it right.

encore, encore!

We wrapped up the evening sitting on the roof of a hotel next to the river, with a spectacular view of the city.    

I ordered a French 75, which I was incredibly excited -almost as much as the Kombucha earlier- to see on the menu (there was a sazerac listed on it as well).  The excitement was quickly dashed when after ordering it, I received a weird pink drink in a martini glass that tasted oddly similar to a cosmo.  I REALLY do regret not taking a picture because the Austrian version of a French 75 is definitely NOT the same as the kind served in it's home of NOLA.  I almost shudder to think of what may have been served if I had ordered a sazerac.  My libation situation went from thrilled due to the kombucha to deeply disappointed with the cosmo masquerading as a sacred NOLA cocktail.


In summary: Salzburg is gorgeous and very friendly, but also small.  It's romantic, but I feel like if you had more than two days in the city you'd find yourself a bit bored.  I'm still planning on bringing Mr. Bama to Salzburg once he gets back to Germany, but I don't think I'd visit it again without him -- now that's not the case for Vienna, which I hear is much different than Salzburg.

So, we bid adieu to the city of Salt (salz = salt) and began our trek to Budapest.

Hurricane Europa

Goodness it has been a while, and quite a whirlwind -- which explains my absence.  A week after moving into our new home, I flew back to the US for my best friend's wedding, which was an absolute blast.  When I returned on July 21, Mr. Bama had already left for his year of being gone for work. While I have missed him terribly, I haven't had too much time to dwell on his absence -- our household goods arrived a week after I got back to Germany, and a day later I finally had internet set up (after a week of dealing with German T-Mobile and being hung up on 9 out of the 10 times I called them).  The very next day one of my best friends from home flew into Germany with a friend from business school and we began a 10-day  breakneck-speed tour of Eastern Europe. So the next few blog posts, combined with my upcoming guest posts for Trashy Diva, will be a recap of our adventures in Salzburg, Budapest, Prague and Munich.  So stay tuned for some European goodness!

With my friend Laura on the Charles Bridge in Prague

The Bamas Meet Bruno the Beamer!

Yours truly is proud to report that I am now the rightful owner of a German driver's license.  Yup, after 3 days studying, taking an agonizing 4 hour class on how German driving is different from American (its all about the Right-of-Way), and completing a 100 question test, I'm legal!  Itching to get on the road, I put my energy into finding a car that was afforable (read under $3,000), reliable and not a gas guzzler.  Enter Bruno:

this is Bruno

Bruno is a  German spec 1995 BMW 320i who was for sale because his owner bikes to work and didn't have a need for him any longer.  He's not as snazzy as the BMW's we test drove Saturday (more about that later...) but he's something that I can drive without worrying.  HOWEVER (and this is big), Bruno has a manual transmission.  Not usually an issue, but when you don't know how to drive manual., it's a big deal.  

So not only am I dealing with a whole new set of road rules, but I'm faced with the challenge of learning how to drive a car that can't figure out on its own what gear to be in!  

Mr. Bama took me around a rarely traveled loop of road near our Inn to train me in this new adventure.  After lots of stalling and swearing, I've finally gotten a hang of it.  But in short: clutches are stupid and I DESPISE hills.  But I do like the sense of control.....

story of my standard transmission life

While we're still on the topic of BMWs, guess what I got to do last Saturday:

(source)

We test drove brand new BMW's at the Schweinfurt dealership -- The autobahn made it so I was able to drive my  personal record speed of 100mph while Mr. Bama clocked out this bad boy at 160 mph

The BMW M3.  Its prettier in real life.  I promise

Next blog post:  Eating healthy when you a) live in a hotel and b) theres a *slight* produce shortage.  And by slight I mean substantial.  Yay E.Coli!  Fun fun times, I tell yah.