We recently went to another drachenboot (dragonboat) festival, this time in pretty Aschaffenburg. The setting was much more scenic than the Frankfurt races, with the river snaking below the Schloss Johannisburg and the riverbanks lush with trees and flowers. If it wasn’t for the scorchingly hot day (35 C/95 F), I would have probably enjoyed myself [...]
Posts under ‘Celebrations’
Germany wins!
And then the people run to their beloved autos and drive around honking like mad for a few hours. Here, all the Smart Cars from a pizza chain make a little parade through the village instead of delivering pizza.
World Cup Fußball Feber
This month I have really been enjoying the World Cup football fever and the festive atmosphere that has infiltrated Germany. These days I can’t live without my ESPN World Cup Football app, which shows the game times, scores, stats, tables, news, live casts, etc. For a person like me who is sports deficient, this app helps [...]
Roasted Pig’s Head and Other Delicacies
Despite the fact that on Sunday we were monstrously tired and the weather was rainyish, we trekked all the way out to Gelnhausen for their medieval festival. Of course it was only marginally historical, but still, rather fun. This is where Germans love to dress up in spectacularly bad costumes and act all medievally by [...]
My first birthday in Germany
Yesterday was my birthday, and I must say it was the best day so far this year in Germany (of course!). It was perfectly warm, the sky was blue, the sun shone brilliantly, and spring was in full, glorious bloom. I kept mentioning yesterday that I love that my birthday is in April, as spring [...]
Bathing in Budapest
The highlight of my Budapest trip was easily my visit to the Széchenyi thermal baths. Hungary is blessed with thermal springs, and for Hungarians, a bath like Széchenyi is considered medicinal, is included in the national healthcare system, and is often prescribed by doctors. This is the largest bath complex in Europe, with indoor and [...]
No Fooling Frühling
Last Sunday we had a friend over for an end-of-winter party. We made our last cheese fondue of the season and implored the universe to end this winter now. It apparently worked. This week Frühling began in earnest: the temperature has risen, the sun is shining, and little bitty bitty buds dot the tree branches [...]
Frozen Roses
Yesterday was Rosenmontag (Rose Monday), part of Germany’s carnival celebrations before Lent. This is a time of year when Germans don silly costumes in order to overcompensate for generally being a serious and humorless people. Well, the humorless part is not always true. But even The Mann admitted, after we sat silently (and with open [...]
Post-Traumatic Christmas Market Disorder (PTCMD)
Prosit Neujahr! (Happy New Year!) I made it back to Germany right in time for Sylvester (what Germans call New Year’s Eve), despite the fact that the timing of my trip home was horrible, what with my crazy flight home, blizzards, and then the extra “security” enforced by the Christmas bombing attempt. I flew through Chicago [...]
I'm a Europhile living with my German boyfriend ("The Mann") and splitting my time between Cologne and the Frankfurt area, Germany.
