Even though I didn’t really want to do it, I couldn’t resist stopping in at the Manneken Pis, the diminutive statue of the little cherub dude pissing his wiener out. With a disturbed grin on his puffy little bronzed face. While the Manneken Pis often sports little outfits gifted to him by overly concerned and apparently bored people, on this day, he was, sadly, in the buff. What was more entertaining was standing back and watching all the people watching a statue pee. And next to it, naturally, was the Manneken Pis chocolate shop, which brings all kinds of perplexing questions to my mind.

Other than that, I walked a bit around the museum district, then hopped back on my train. I would like to see more of Brussels, such as the museums themselves or the European Union parliament, but that will have to wait for another trip.

The peeing boy statue

Watching the people watching a statue pee

The peeing statue chocolate shop

During my trip to Belgium, I happily decided to stay in Ghent for my entire trip. Because Bruges is only a quick 30-minuteish train ride from Ghent, I went to Bruges as a day trip. I’m glad I finally got to visit Bruges. It was lovely!

I thought Bruges was really stunningly beautiful and especially spectacular on a sunny autumn day. The leaves were at peak color, and I adored wandering around the streets and oohing and aahing at all of the impossible cuteness. But I also found it to be packed to the gills with tourists, not to mention that everything – food, lodging, and entrance fees to sites – seemed so overpriced. I would love to see it again, though, during a time when it’s not so busy.

Allll the people lined up for a carriage ride - poor horse!

If you want postcard-perfect Belgium, this is the place to be. Here are some of my photos to hopefully inspire your autumn travel dreams.

And, finally, may I present to you…Jesus on a stick!

I originally planned to spend my first two nights in Ghent and my second two nights in Bruges, with a long layover in Brussels as I rode the train home. However, the day before I left, my cute bed and breakfast in Bruges notified me they were kicking me out in favor of filling the room with a double reservation instead of my single one (and therefore, making more money, I assume). That rather soured my impression of Bruges a bit, so on a lark I decided to extend my stay in Ghent for all four nights, and to do Bruges as a day trip from Ghent (and therefore, save a bit of money by avoiding pricier Bruges). I’m glad I did. I will write about Bruges and Brussels in future posts.

In short, I loved Ghent. It was everything I wanted out of my trip to Belgium. Gorgeous stone buildings, tasty food and beer, and a relaxing time meandering about the town. While Bruges was more stunningly beautiful in how it looked (and also A LOT more touristy and expensive), Ghent was just a normal town infused with a youthful, university vibe. It was like a worn, comfortable sofa that I just wanted to spend a slow, easy day in while wearing my pajamas. I did not wear my pajamas out onto the streets of Ghent, but I had the same warm fuzzies all the same. While in Bruges I felt like a tourist being taken advantage of, in Ghent I could feel like a local.

Where Ghent really shines (har har) is walking around the city at night. The city put a lot of effort into illuminating certain buildings around the city, and for me, it was pure magic. The city center is car free, so it makes the walking even nicer. In the TI, I picked up a brochure that highlighted a walking tour around the city to see the illuminated buildings.

Food and drink

I’ll start with the most important things first. Food. Belgium was for me a foodie paradise. Of course the chocolate was incredibly amazing. But those ubiquitous Belgian waffles have ruined me for life. Thick, sticky, sweet, and so good, I couldn’t stop eating them wherever I went. American “Belgian” waffles have nothing on these! “French fries” actually originated in Belgium, and I have never had fries like these before! There are tons of fast food type of places that specialize in frites. Indeed, you can find an entire website here that is devoted to these babies.

Belgian waffle with just a dusting of powdered sugar

The beer was also of course totally nummy, and I sampled as many as I could. In Germany I’ve missed drinking fruit lambic beers, so I was happy to be reunited with some tasty Kriek (cherry) and Framboise (raspberry) beers. I smuggled some bottles over the border with me back to Germany.

A tasty local beer from Ghent

Some food specialties that I tried that were specific to or originated in Ghent:

Cuberdon candy. These are raspberry jelly candies that are typically in a cone shape, resembling a large nose. I stopped in at a teeny tiny, ancient candy shop called Temmerman, which is apparently famous for its cuberdon. They make them in the shape of a face instead of the cones. In my cuberdon taste tests, these were by far the best in town. I only regret that I did not buy more to take home with me!

Cuberdon candy in the window at Temmerman's

Temmerman's candy shop (on the left) - who can resist an old place like this?

Waterzooi is a special stew from Ghent, and usually consists of a huge bowl of soup with enormous pieces of chicken. I found this to be quite pricey about town, averaging between 20-25 Euro, but I found a place for lunch one day that had it for 12. I neither liked nor hated it, but maybe if I had paid for an expensive one, I might have loved it. Or not.

Gentse Waterzooi - watch out, there are animals hidden in there

Lodging

I stayed at a small bed and breakfast called Chambres d’Ami(e)s, which was owned by an adorable gay couple who renovated the place back to its original Belle Epoque era. Sometimes we all need a little Belle Epoque in our lives. The rooms were to die for. I’m not normally into overly done romantic decoration, but for this trip I was happy for a little luxury in my surroundings. The place was so grand. The bathrooms and bathtubs were just as delightful as the rooms themselves.

Blue room - Chambres d'Ami(e)s, Ghent

The first part of my stay was in the green room, then they switched me to the blue room because I had changed my plans and extended my stay at the last minute, and that’s what they had available. It was cool to experience two of the three rooms. I peaked into the red room once when the door was open and the guests had left, but I’m glad I didn’t stay in it because it had a freaky Michael Jackson painting that scared the geebers out of me.

Blue room - Chambres d'Ami(e)s, Ghent

These are rooms that need a dramatic soundtrack, so I happily popped in some of the opera CDs they provided, then I sat back and sampled the Belgian beers they had stocked in the fridge downstairs. On the last day of my trip, I was so tired I came back to my room after lunch and spent my entire day reading and relaxing. Just what I needed for my solo vacation.

Green room bathroom - Chambres d'Ami(e)s, Ghent

The rates for this place are a total steal, in my opinion. The house is off the city center and happens to be in a rather uninspiring neighborhood. If the house was in a better location, and in the city center, or even in Bruges, heaven forbid, the prices per night could easily be doubled. As it was, I paid 55 Euro per night at the single rate.

Chambres d'Ami(e)s, Ghent

Fun

Aside from my night walks, for fun stuff to do, I took a boat tour of the canals, which was lovely on a sunny autumn day. I also ascended the belfry of Ghent in an indecisive elevator and enjoyed the views over the city. The belfry has cute chimes that play a little song every hour. The castle in Ghent was also interesting, except for all the children in ghoulish plastic Halloween costumes running about the place and the cheesy hollow laughs echoing down the stone corridors from a bad CD soundtrack. But that’s what I get for visiting it on Halloween day.

A cruise on the canals

Het Gravensteen, the castle in Ghent

The belfry

View of the cathedral from the belfry

Photos

And here it is, the city of Ghent. I hope to return someday to gorge myself with more good food and drink. Maybe I can convince The Mann that he needs a little Belle Epoque for a weekend.

In Germany, car buying is a much slower process that requires patience. Dealers do not have vast lots of new cars waiting to be sold and driven away the same day. In fact, most dealers I have seen can be quite small. They usually have a showroom with a sampling of model cars that one can browse through and test drive. The buyer then negotiates the sale with the dealer. You order the car with the color and features you want, and the car is then manufactured based on that order. This can take months of waiting for your new car, but then one day it is delivered to the dealer and you pick it up. I like this idea of getting exactly what you want in a car, and it seems more efficient only to manufacture on demand instead of having vast lots of inventory.

Maybe we should have bought this Beetle?

This past summer The Mann and I decided it was time to get a much smaller and more efficient car than the one we had. We decided to go with one of the Volkswagen models. We also decided to try going car-free for a few months, so The Mann traded in the car in August. And we waited. And waited. Our new car finally decided to make its appearance in early December.

In this land of cars, we thought it would be fun to pick up our new car at the holy mecca of German cars – Autostadt in Wolfsburg, Germany. Autostadt means “car city” and it’s a car theme park built next to the Volkswagen factory in Wolfsburg. Indeed, there is nothing else in Wolfsburg except a breezy ICE stop for the trains headed to Berlin.

When you buy a new car from Volkswagen, you have the option to pay a bit extra for the option of picking the car up at Autostadt, and staying in a swanky hotel, instead of picking the car up at your local dealer. For car enthusiasts who just want to visit Autostadt, there is no need to spend so much money on a new car just to visit. You simply show up, cough up 15 Euro, and you’re in. For non-car enthusiasts, it might be a boring place.

The car museum at Autostadt

Autostadt includes a groovy car museum with mirrored ceilings, and showroom pavilions for each of the Volkswagen car brands: Volkswagen, Audi, Lamborghini, Skoda, etc. You can take a factory tour and do other fun things. Since it was December, there was a little Christmas market on the campus that included an ice rink where kids could skate by day, and by night, it featured some kind of freakish Bavarians on ice show with a firework happy ending.

But first, we had to pick up our new car at the customer center. You sign in, and once you see your name on the electronic reader board, you meet a Volkswagen representative who greets you and leads you to the car. Except our greeter dude did that thing where he assumed we were married, and he greeted me first by bellowing out a Guten Tag, Frau The Mann! Ummm….that’s not my last name, greeter dude. I’m Frau Resident Evil Resident on Earth.

Anyway, he led us down to the showroom floor where our car was eagerly waiting for us. Then the ceremony commences. They take your photo with your car, and you are met with congratulations, a pat on the back, and in true German style, a thorough explanation of the features and buttons of your new lean, mean, German driving machine. Then you drive out of the building with a happy little wave, and you take your new wheels for a speedy lap around the autobahn.

Though it appears new cars in Germany do not come with a full tank of gas, like they do in the U.S. This fact rather astonished me. After buying thousands of Euros worth of new car, the least they could do for you is give you a tank of gas! The Mann said they were generous in that they even gave us a quarter of tank. He says usually they give you enough to just get to the nearest gas station on fumes.

The Volkswagen pavilion at Autostadt

The next day, we hit the other features of the Autostadt. I was amazed at the sleek design and style of the showroom buildings (something dearly lacking, I think, in the U.S.). The showrooms usually featured a few models of pre-versions of their cars. Some were really interactive, where you could sit in the cars or do other fun things.

And then there was the Lamborghini pavilion. You were ushered into a dark jail cell, and as you cling to the bars, you see a yellow Lamborghini mounted to a wall. Yes. Apparently the lights dim, they fill the room with dry ice smoke, and the car appears to vanish, but in reality it’s mounted on a circular disk that flips around so the car is on the outside of the building. BUT, not wishing to be in a dark jail cell crowded with smelly teenagers, we broke out and fled the premises. It was so not our thing. You couldn’t even get close to the car. Pffft…. And jail? Come on.

One of the car towers

My favorite part of the Autostadt included two experiences. First, on the site there are two temples of cars – glass towers that hold the new cars until the owners come and pick them up. I was really amazed at the engineering and style of it. Basically, an arm picks up a car with a plate that slides beneath the car and places it on a bigger plate. It then lifts the car up through the tower and deposits it in a slot. A car vending machine, of sorts (see my video at the bottom of this post). When a car is ready to be picked up, the car is removed from its slot and placed on a conveyor belt that moves the car underground to the customer service center, where it is polished one last time, given its license plates, and then given to the new owner. For 8 Euro, you can book a tour to ride in a box that takes you to the top of the tower. I giggled with glee the whole ride up.

Also, on the campus there are tracks for off-road driving. You can drive a Volkswagen SUV around a track that includes fun things like driving up stairs, driving over railroad tracks, driving through pipe tunnels, water puddles, steep hills, and other adventurous things. You pay 15 Euro for a small SUV or 25 Euro for a bigger SUV. An employee sits with you in the car to show you how to drive and to make sure you don’t do anything too stupid. It was a total blast.

Tower of Cars from Resident on Earth on Vimeo.

I spent my first few months in Germany doing nothing but exploring my new world. Time seemed to pass so slowly then, and my new environment was filled with magic and newness. Now, it’s just normal life. I feel very lucky to have found an exciting job in my profession, and now Germany feels more like a place where I live and work.

I still have a long way to go with my German language skills, but now I can watch TV and movies in German, carry on a conversation, boot people out of my reserved seat on trains, and comfortably understand a lot. There are still times when I can’t seem to speak a word of German, such as when I’m exhausted, but overall I’m amazed at how second nature much of it has become.

I’m grasping a deeper understanding of the country and the culture. There are certain things that I’m beginning to intensely dislike. But one thing has not changed in these two years. I’m still living my dream here in Germany.

And, oh, the ground shook when I tasted it.

Agrotourizam Dol

The Istrian peninsula has a proud tradition of locally sourced and delicious food. I heard that Istrian food is grown and farmed within a 10 km radius of where it’s eaten. Intrigued by the thought of feasting on local and seasonal food, we decided to make our Croatian vacation this past September into a foodcation.

There doesn’t seem to be much material out there about Istria and Istrian food. Istria is touted as being similar to Tuscany in food and looks, which I think is a stretch, but in its own right it quietly makes yummy wines, olive oil, and hearty, simple food, mixed in with some hysteria over truffles. Indeed, the Istria Gourmet website is intent on smothering you with all the culinary experiences you must try in the region. I downloaded their free PDF guide, which was indispensible for our trip. The guide also details where you can go to find all this wonderful food.

View from our balcony

In the interior of Istria, there are several agrotourisms/farms that open their doors to visitors. You can either make a reservation to eat a meal with one, or you can stay overnight, keep eating, and involve yourself in the farm activities. Many even invite you to learn to cook with them. If you eat only a meal, it’s not like a restaurant where you order food. They cook what they cook and that’s what they bring out to you.

After some research, we decided to book a week at the Agrotourizam Dol, near Pazin in the heart of Istria. I found it through the Central Istria Tourist Board website. It took a few tries to get an email response back, but I’m glad I was patient. The value, at 35 Euro/265 Croatian Kuna per night for a double room, was astonishing. Especially for the quality of food we ate there. The breakfasts were included, and the evening meals cost around 7 Euro without wine. But the wine itself was also a total bargain.

We were truthfully a bit nervous when we arrived, wondering what we were getting into as we drove our rental car down a scary, long, very steep country road to the bottom of the valley where the agrotourism is happily situated. We were hoping for a quiet week in the wilderness, and it looked like our wish was granted!

Just like at Grandma and Grandpa's

The room turned out to be fine and was clean, homey, and simple. The bed had worn, smooth sheets that smelled of sunlight. There was a balcony where we could sit and look out over the farm. The Mann and I are really not fussy travelers, but we would have gladly paid more for just a bit more luxury. The teeny tiny bathroom frustrated us both and the shower was both weak and painful at the same time, and either extremely hot or extremely cold. The balcony had wooden stools to sit on, but after some time we (and our aching backsides) were desperately wishing for normal chairs. But at 35 Euro per night, who’s to complain?

Asses!

The farm naturally had an abundance of animals: Horses, ponies, donkeys, sheep, goats, pigs, chickens, cows, and these gorgeous, silvery gray Istrian oxen with pretty faces. The oxen were also, well, delicious. Burp. The roosters woke us up every morning, except for when the noisy Italian family moved into the room next door and we woke up to the crowing of the mother screaming at her son: Massimo! Basta! Oh, little Massimo was a terror, indeed.

The entire family works together on the farm. The mother cooks and runs the restaurant. One of the daughters helps out serving the food. She spoke English, and the rest of the family spoke Croatian and Italian. When the daughter wasn’t there to help us, I resurrected my horrible Italian. It made me want to start studying Italian again. The family has been farming in this location for generations and they are very proud of their food and wine making.

The restaurant, where the magic happens

The restaurant is on the bottom floor of the main house and is a cozy, long room with stone walls and a stone fireplace. There are several picnic type tables with benches. The main action seems to take place on the weekends, when the farm and restaurant are bursting to capacity with local people and late-night parties. The family doesn’t cook on weeknights, unless you arrive on a weeknight, and then they will make you a meal. With all the busyness over the weekend, we didn’t quite get the quiet retreat we were looking for, but that’s OK, the food more than made up for it.

The food. It was a revelation. It was honestly some of the best food I have ever tasted in my life. I didn’t know it could be like this! I’ve never eaten food that fits so holistically with the surrounding environment. It tasted like the farm. I could taste the animal in the cheese. The fresh milk actually had a taste.

The food was sourced from the farm. Almost everything that hit our plate came from their farm and their hands.

Everything is homemade. See the shaving marks in the ham?

For breakfast: Fresh bread, creamy butter, and marmalade that melted in your mouth. Homemade cheeses and dried ham (prosciutto). And, sometimes, they would bring out the Uštipci, doughnut-like things that went so perfectly with honey.

The evening meals were heavenly. They started with bread and an Istrian soup such as Maneštra, with corn, beans, and vegetables (and an incredible, tasty texture) or a chicken noodle soup with a nourishing broth and fine, handmade strands of angel hair pasta. The second course usually consisted of meats and pastas. Handmade penne and ravioli topped with a ragu of tender Istrian cow. Peppers stuffed with mashed meat and onion, and served with potatoes and sauce.

You could wash down the meals with homemade red wine that came from the vineyard down the valley from the farmhouse – it was a surprisingly very drinkable table wine. Nourishing, simple, and smooth. The wine was served in an Istrian ceramic pitcher.

Mmmm...the bread

And then, the crowning achievement, the meal I am still thinking about to this day. We were lucky that on the Saturday night of our stay, the farm was hosting a traditional Istrian wedding meal and celebration for some local folks. The meal was a Pašticada, a traditional beef dish that is marinated in yummy things for a day and then slow-cooked with more yummy things, including red wine. The farm had a stone hut with an open-fire oven where this cooked. The entire day we smelled the roasting meat, as the smoke wafted out of the chimney and right to our balcony. The meat was served on an enormous platter, along with homemade gnocchi and roasted vegetables. The meat pieces were caramelized on the outside and tender on the inside. Sigh. My only regret was that I was so happily eating I never took a photo of it.

Remarkably, dessert was served after the meals. Plates of cookies or a Palatschinke, a crepe-like nummy thing folded around fresh marmalade.

Then, when you are sure you are so full you will never be able to waddle back to your room, they present grappa with herbs or honey to help you digest the feast.

A side effect of staying with them for a week is that the more they got to know us, the more food and wine they brought out for us. The little wine pitcher was fuller and fuller every time. When we finally checked out, fat and happy a week later, they presented one of the pitchers to us as a gift.

We may just make a yearly foodcation to Istria.

So. Hungry now?

The wine pitcher they gave to us. It's so proud. It seems to say, look at me, I’m here to serve you wine!

More photos of the farm:

Have I mentioned that I love where I live?

Anyhow, this is what we saw:

I’m not very interested in fashion, and God knows my own sense of personal fashion is tragic at best, but this delicious film really captivated me. It has stuck with me for the past few days.

It’s about an elite group of models, stylists, and fashion designers who bucked the system of conformity in the DDR by creating outrageous fashion design and having underground fashion shows in abandoned churches, bath houses, and living rooms, all set to punk, Goth, and New Wave asthetics. With a distinct lack of materials, they resorted to creating imaginative and freakish clothes out of whatever materials they could get their hands on, such as striped, plastic bath curtains, hospital bags used to hold organs, or, as the film’s title implies, the plastic sheets used by farmers to cover their strawberry fields.

The film includes the most gorgeous black and white photography of this group. The models look so heartbreakingly human, so stunning in these photographs, with their eyes burning into the camera, it seems. It’s fascinating to see how this group played with gender roles in their fashion, how they fought so fiercely to express themselves as individuals, how they used outlandish style to rebell against the establishment. It was the strict containment of their society that made their wild style so special.

Stylist Frank Schäfer is quoted in the film:

A tiger that lives in a cage is much wilder than a tiger that is free to roam.

As I think this film provides interesting insight into a unique aspect of DDR culture, I’ve added it to my list of German films. Also, this Der Spiegel article and this blog post provide excellent information about the film.