So...apparently I went on hiatus with my blog! A very long post break was the result, but I'm back for now!

There is of course lots to catch up on, but for this post, first things first - my USA trip from Summer! If you'd like to see the whole album before reading further, see USA Trip 2009. As I'd mentioned before, this trip was different than the trips I've had back in the past few years since I was back in Summer, when the weather is (supposedly) nice and warm! And for the most part, besides the first rainy week, the weather was pretty decent, as my photos will show. Of course the heat of the Summer did NOT appear, probably because I was there, but it was at least Summer clothes time!

For the first week, we just kinda mulled around town with my mom, trying to get over our jet lag (when else would I be going to be at 9:30pm??). We did, however have a few activities planned, like visiting my brother and his new baby; my turn to meet my niece! It was really nice to see my brother and his fiancé, too. Little did I know by the second visit to see them, my niece would be sitting up on her own already! Man do little kids grow fast.

Week one also consisted of a little mini golf escapade, which is always fun...as you can see!

Week two was road trip week. We went on a 2-day drive to Pennsylvania to visit my Aunt, Cousin, and Great Aunt, which was really great. We even managed to fit in a trip to the beach, which turned out to be on two of the hottest days we were in the States. Since we were also in the vicinity and were driving through the area anyway, we went on a little driving tour of downtown Hershey, where everything has a chocolate theme - even the street signs and street lamps! These people are serious about their chocolate.

Week three started out with a change of location, this time to my dad's for the remainder of the trip. This was also coincidentally the second year in a row that I was back for our County Fair, which was during week three. This was Jan's first American county fair, so we had fun seeing everything, and trying everything - and nothing was spared, not even the deep-fried Oreos (which were actually not as gross as you may think)! Some highlights of the Fair were: the pig races with the mile-a-minute pig-related jokes, the lumberjack show with world champion lumberjackers + lumberjackette, the loud and dirty tractor and truck pulls, the demolition derby, the harness racing, and of course, the animals.

After a week of lots of walking around, we decided to take it easy on the farm for our last week in the States, week four. We did do a few things, like see a well dug and flowing since 1895, accept a delivery per semi truck, visited my brother again, and enjoyed nature on the farm.

To see the entire album, visit: USA Trip 2009.

All said, it was a nice trip and we had fun seeing friends (I didn't mention my 10-year high school reunion!) and family again, and enjoying the Midwest when the weather is nice and mosquito-y.

More on what's happened since then on the following post...which would mean my posting hiatus is in fact on hiatus.

Wow, almost another month has gone past since the last post. If I keep this up, this will turn into a pure monthly blog, geez! Well, here we are, and here are the issues at hand:

First of all, in just short of 3 weeks I will be in the States, and I cannot wait!!! So far I have several things planned, like a road trip to PA and the Walworth County Fair, and that's of course besides time spent at home with the immediate family. I've been working more to make up for my time when I'm gone so I can stay for a whole month. Yippee!

Next, I had been thinking of buying a digital camera for a while, but wasn't sure exactly what I wanted. I really wanted a SLR camera (for high-quality photos, sees exactly what you see and takes quick pictures with a shutter), but they are usually too expensive for what I would consider my hobby. Luckily, I found a way to have both through a sale at an electronic store nearby! On Friday I got the Olympus E-420, a digital SLR camera set with objective. It was considerably cheaper than the price on the Olympus website due to the sale, and I finally decided the investment was justifiable. You can decide for yourself - my pictures from now on will be taken by it (including the one posted here)! So far I'm happy with the purchase - it has a lot of different modes (portrait, action, landscape, etc) as well as light settings (sunset, candles, night, fireworks), and if you have it set right, it will also take some nice action shots and close-ups. Oh, and it's supposedly one of the lightest (if not the lightest) SLR cameras out there. So I have a new toy to play with for the time being!

I took this picture at a wedding I was at this past weekend, which was my first wedding in Germany (and only my 2nd overall). It was a civil ceremony in a small town, and quite interesting. First of all, the first half of the ceremony was taken up with paperwork (questions about what address the pair is living at, who's taking whose name, etc.), and I was wondering if there was even going to be any talk about relationships and commitment and, God forbid, love. But yes, it did appear in the end, and was quite nice - I just had to ignore the pitchforks and other sharp farm tools hovering over our heads during the ceremony, as well as the taxidermy hawk glaring and the ferret bearing his teeth at us as we walked outside for pictures. But no, before the pictures there were a few traditions to uphold - the throwing of the rice, the release of the doves, the tossing of the flowers (which was hilarious since she kept tossing it too far or too short or to the side) - and the sawing of the log. Yep, the bride and groom, elegantly dressed in white wedding gown and tuxedo, put on their work gloves and sawed through a log with one of those 2-person saws before heading off for photos! I don't know if that is a typical German tradition or not (or Russian, since the groom was Russian), but it did get their hearts pumping and flushed their cheeks for nice pics.

There was also a nice reception - a buffet, during which the couple made some nice and partly funny speeches, and some entertainment planned for us including a magician and a fast sketcher (someone who would sketch your portrait in just a few minutes). Not to mention the yummy cake! Was a great time, and like I mentioned, quite interesting!

In other news, there was a European Parliament election held a while ago, and since I'm not too up on German politics, I found a website to help. It has a quiz you can take of your opinions on different topics, and it will compare your answers with some of the top political parties in Germany for the results: in case you're curious where you sit in European politics and issues visit the Wahl-O-Mat (in English). The funny thing was, under my top 4 parties was....the Pirate Party! Haha! Arrrr! I guess they are actually not radical or weird, but have an unfortunate name. What would people think of a civilized country run by pirates? Had to laugh at that one.

Back to a more personal note, we are finally moving into a bigger, lighter, closer, and less-moldy apartment! We get the keys tomorrow and decorating will start immediately, but the move will be delayed due to our US trip. It is pretty exciting though, and I am currently flooded with many decorating ideas. We bought paint yesterday, with colors like blackberry, caramel, and espresso - which sounds really tasty and made me wonder if we are moving into a gingerbread house! I will probably post pictures at some point once the decorating is done, and will be keeping busy til I leave for the States.

Until then!

So, you can be amazed - another post before the month is out! As promised, I have more photos to share, this time from my car trip to Belgium for 2 auditions. Since I was there for a few days, I had some time to see the capital city Brussels and visit a friend in Ghent, about 45 minutes away from Brussels. Driving in Brussels was sure crazy - so many roundabouts, tunnels weaving above and below the street level through downtown, and often no traffic lights, which means you just went when you felt inspired and no one was walking in front of you at that moment! Was a bit nerve-wracking at first, but then I got used to the pace, and by the end loved driving through the tunnels (which were really like an underground city, with on and off ramps and all, and actually a good idea since it let traffic flow for those going directly through the city)! To view my photo album of the trip before reading my account, look here: Belgium - June 2009!!

I saw some of the city on the first evening, and was blessed with some sun to see the city hall, as well as walk around the restaurant area and enjoy a nice meal outside (with some famous Belgium beer).

The next day I had off, so I went to Ghent to visit a friend, who ended up giving me a very nice city tour! After visiting the cathedral, we bought some chocolate, another fame item of Belgium, and visited the beautiful canals and old buildings. We then arrived in an area with the oldest buildings in town and a view of the three towers at once! Tired, I headed back to Brussels for my last day.

The third day provided me with lots of rain and only a little sightseeing time in Brussels, but I did manage to fit in the famous Mannequin Piss statue, which is so small in real life (and crawling with tourists)! Before taking of for home, I also saw the cathedral, as well as a Turkish military band marching on the main square, playing historical instruments, and claiming to be the world's oldest military band. They also claimed that Mozart and Beethoven drew inspiration from them, which sounded pretty far-fetched if you ask me, so I guess you have to take their claim to fame for what it's worth!

So for the rest of the photos and more info on my trip, view the entire album: Belgium - June 2009!!!!

More on my non-travel life coming up soon, hopefully!

So, as your reward for waiting so long for a post, you get another photo album! It's from my trip to Copenhagen, Denmark (see the whole album) - one of 2 trips as of late for auditions (next post coming soon!), and sight-seeing, and vacation, and visiting people... ;)

Since Denmark is quite close to Hamburg, I decided to drive, which was my first time driving in another country other than Germany. Needless to say, my saving grace was, once again, my GPS navigation (aka Navi)! It only failed to tell me one thing - the car ferry to Denmark was NOT at all free (I was expecting about 10-15€ fee, but it was 64€!) and included in the travel time, but all in all the trip was still around 5 hours. I made up my mind to find another way back to Hamburg to avoid the car ferry - my Navi found a way on the mainland, which included a toll bridge (still cheaper than the ferry) and only extended to trip half an hour!

Anyway, besides paying exorbitant prices for everything, Copenhagen was a beautiful city. The opera house is fairly new and built on the water, which makes for an interesting setting. After my audition, my friend showed me around the city, which was great! We saw the parliament and the stock exchange, as well as managed to catch the changing of the guards!

I thought the most charming part was the harbor area, with colorful buildings and many outdoor cafes. We also had to laugh when we saw a farm fair display on the city hall square - a nice contrast of country and city. They even had a "guess which animal this poop came from" contest - ha! Afterward we headed to the world's oldest amusement park, Tivoli, and saw the old rides and gardens. My friend was telling me about this really yummy ice cream they have, and guess what it was - Coldstone, something I've never seen in Europe! Of course, we had to try it.

So, hope you enjoy the whole album; here it is: Copenhagen 2009! Next destination coming up soon!

As promised - the Majorca Report (for the full photo album, visit here: Majorca April 2009)! First off, I had asked last time if you'd ever heard of "Mallorca", but I have since been informed that the English spelling is different (with a "j" instead of "ll"), so maybe that's why you'd never heard of it!

So, I made it back safely from Germany's 17th State (they actually only have 16)! Turns out it was even more German than I expected. Here's the report:

Day 1 - Arrival. Late afternoon, so I didn't really get to do much. Basically just walked around in the *drizzle* before the evening meal at the hotel to see what the city where I stayed, Paguera, looked like downtown. I had a real cheap package deal from a travel company, so the hotel (mine was 2-stars, incl. breakfast and dinner), the flight, and the transfer from the airport to hotel (I flew into Palma and had this view) were all included in the price. On top of that, it was still off-season, so not many of the tourists were there, so the prices were also cheaper. This also meant that several of the stores or restaurants were not open as long, which meant after dinner hanging around at the hotel (which everyone did).

Day 2 - Trip to Palma, the capitol city of Majorca. Despite the rain and cool temps, I had a nice day at the capitol. My first stop was an amazing gothic-style cathedral called Le Seu, which deserved a visit inside. This was, of course, after my stop for breakfast tapas, which was a disappointment - I did not think tapas with ham and cheese would just be a ham and cheese sandwich! Made me weary of trusting my travel book, but I later found out it was just an outlier.

After the cathedral I just wanted to walk around town to see the sights, like the Place Major (main square), the Passeig des Born (with photo exhibits and shopping), and the Placa Cort with an old olive tree and the city hall. Other activities included escaping the rain for some typical Majorcan almond cake and a café con leche (coffee with milk), very tasty! Unfortunately the wind sorta broke my umbrella, which didn't make it always that pleasant for just wandering around, but I just dodged into different shops to look around between the drops, and enjoyed the cute little streets.

Day 3 - relaxing in Paguera. On top of the cough I brought from Hamburg, I woke up this morning with a stuffy head and nose due to the heating not working in my room - I slept the night with a scarf wrapped around my head! Perfect opportunity to take it easy and see the beach and the town, relax, and eat some real tapas - and enjoy some native oranges (lots of flavor). I actually found a spot on some rocks where no one went (mainly because the tourists that stayed in Paguera were older couples and not up for off-the-path trips), so I took a rest and took some pics, like this one, a nice coastal view.

Day 4 - relaxing in Paguera, part 2. Since it was my last day, and the whole point of this vacation was to refresh and de-stress, I decided to walk around in a few new places around town, and to save a car rental for next time! It was a few degrees warmer, and the sun shone for a few minutes, so it was nicer for being outside, although still not warm enough to swim. I spotted my next hiking destination, and headed on up for a better view over the island - and found my way there and enjoyed this view! This was a spot without any people as well, so I could enjoy it as long as I wanted, undisturbed. All that hiking made me hungry, so I headed back down for some more tapas.

All in all, my hotel was fine for the price - the food was actually really good (fresh fish every night with veggies), but the amenities were frugal (no TV, alarm clock, telephone, or soap in the bathroom...and I think I blew the circuit breaker one night while using my water cooker - oops!), and it was very close to a bus stop to Palma and the shore. Assuming there is a "next time", I think a week would be a good amount to stay, which would give me time to rent a car and see some other cities, like Valldemossa, a cute city where Chopin stayed one Winter. I would not recommend going in July or so, during the main season, since the partying would be sooooo crazy - all the late-year teens go there to drink and party (mainly in Palma)!

So, to see my whole album (only some pics I included in this post), visit: Majorca April 2009. Til next time!

As promised: another post! This time pre-departure...for a trip to Germany's so-called "17th State". In other words, I'm off to Germany's most popular vacation destination, Mallorca! Don't worry, I never heard of the place before I moved here either, so for those who don't know, it's an island South of Spain with (I'm hoping) lots of warm weather and sun. I will not be staying in Palma, the capitol city, but in a smaller city outside called Peguera. Luckily it is not the main tourism season yet, because when it is, the island is crowded with young Germans drinking and partying all the time! So I will get to enjoy a few days away (on my few days off of work) of (hopefully) good food and landscape - it is supposedly very pretty. I booked a package deal with hotel and flight included, and 2 meals a day, which will still leave me some leeway to explore the "native" culinary culture as well. So stay tuned, since the next post will be a report!

But true to the actual theme of this blog, I will now give a report on driving in Germany! I can say that I am officially used to driving here...after 2 months. There are quite a few differences that made the first few weeks *quite* stressful, so I compiled a list of "problems" associated with driving in Germany (from an American's perspective) and Germany's solutions to these issues:

Problem: VERY narrow lanes
Solution: smaller cars, many even smaller than an American small car

Problem: bumpy, cobblestone streets
Solution: limited to side residential streets with a low speed limit

Problem: lots of city traffic
Solution: a yellow traffic light to warn drivers that the green light is coming (a good idea in my opinion)

Problem: speeders
Solution: permanent traffic cameras that "flash" you, taking a picture of your license plate to send you a speeding ticket. The only problem with this is drivers learn where the traffic cams are and only slow down when they know one's coming up!

Problem: expensive gas prices (yesterday I paid 4.64€ per gallon, or about 1.20€ per liter)
Solution: get this - mostly diesel cars! Diesel prices here are sometimes 20cents per liter cheaper than normal gas. What I also find astonishing is that Germany is in general very environmentally conscious, but apparently not enough to pay more for gas cars! But see the next one...

Problem: pollution
Solution: lower car taxes for cars with low emissions and high efficiency (so drivers are rewarded for non-diesel cars in lowered taxes somewhat)

Problem: small streets thus limited parking
Solution: rarely marked parking spots (allows for closer parking), and allowed to park in some areas with car half on the curb

Problem: parking with car half on the curb
Solution: the curbs here are much lower than in the States!

Problem: no straight intersections
Solution: white marking lines guide you around curves and through crooked intersections (which can actually look a bit confusing...)

Problem: uncertainty if allowed to turn at intersection
Solution: a blue sign showing if you have to drive straight ahead or can turn, as well as white arrows on the street at practically every intersection showing if you are allowed to turn or not (things for which I am very thankful)

Problem: crazy street connections, confusing street formations
Solution: GPS navigation. So many cars have it built in, or people buy it separately to find their way through the cow paths of German cities. I luckily had Navigation and GPS by default built into my cell phone PDA, which I now am also very thankful for!

Problem: high highway speeds
Solution: more cautious and "smart" drivers, and semi trucks really going the speed limit (which is lower for them) and almost never trying to pass. German drivers pay upwards of 1.500€ for driving school, and have strict written and practical tests. In my experience, this leads to very cautious drivers who watch out for people needing to change lanes and people wanting to pass!

Problem: publicly-run buses that need to stay on schedule despite city traffic
Solution: buses are always allowed the right of way - you have to wait for them to turn out onto the road from a bus stop, for example.

Problem: uncertain middle lane markers, close oncoming traffic
Solution: this is something I just had to get used to, since the oncoming traffic is just as close as the lane next to you. As far as markings, the middle lane is sometimes marked with a white straight line, but otherwise it's a dotted white line, just like the normal lane markers! So I guess the only solution to this problem is to stay in your lane if you're not sure, and follow the other cars - and gather experience!

Problem: more pedestrian and bicycle traffic
Solution: stricter laws on running red lights and speeding

Problem: no cup holders in the car
Solution: no thirst, I guess! But for real...travel times here are generally shorter (commute to work or visit to friends), so I guess there just isn't a need to drink in your car while driving (hehe, of course I mean non-alcoholic!). I did by a cup holder, but it didn't work - somehow wouldn't support the weight of anything! To say the least, that is one thing that I will be purchasing on my visit to the States this summer.

Problem: Limited air conditioning in cars
Solution: Summers that are not that hot. Plus, cars without A/C have a sunroof (like mine) to help with circulation. We'll see how that turns out...

Problem: different street signs
Solution: well, there's nothing to do but learn them! And try to pay attention to them as well as other cars...

I think that covers most issues I've had with driving here. I feel you have to be much more active as a driver here since all other drivers are too!

So, I'll wrap it up now until I get back from Spain. By the way, the picture is one of the Easter stickers (mostly kinda ugly in my opinion!) included for free in a TV magazine for which I have a test-subscription, but this chick one really cracked me up - it looks like this chick has pecs and abs of steel, like he was really working out! HA!

Well, so much for "posting more often"! Guess I've just been more busy with stuff than inspired to post more often! There are, however, a few topics to discuss...

Now that Winter's nearing a close, at least over here (I can't speak for the snowy Midwest), I am thankful for one thing, which is for sure - I managed to escape the many ailments which have been going around here all Winter (knock on wood!). From bronchitis to a flu virus, almost everyone I know here (mostly musicians) has been hit pretty hard this season with more than just a little cold, leaving them off work for a period of time. And I know, every Winter people tend to get sick, but this year seemed especially rough, which makes me wonder if people reading this who work in other fields have also noticed this this season, or if it isn't maybe related to the stress of a musician's life? Irregular hours and long nights? Bodily stress and being in close contact with so many others who are sick? Too much partying...and/or drinking??

What leads me to some of these points are the not-so-common ailments in with the mix over the past months of those I know such as a herniated disc, lumbago, a heart attack, numb fingers, uneven hearing between the ears, acute hearing loss, rumbling in the ear, and a knee operation. Not to mention burnout syndrome (check out Wikipedia's career listed first for this entry) and weirdness (hehe). And in addition to the musicians, there are the musical dancers with their pulled hamstrings and tendons as well as the singers (especially fatal in opera), who get hit the hardest with even the mildest of a cold and are often forced not to sing a performance.

This leads to many substitutions in the performances, which can lead to somewhat amusing results: we once had a Hänsel and Gretel performance with both Hänsel and Gretel sung by outsiders (and once with the originals acting in the opera and subs singing the parts from the sides of the stage); we had Carmen in Carmen sung by someone with an old, wobbly voice; and my personal favorite – for the final performance of Hänsel and Gretel, the witch, which can be sung by either a male of female voice (we usually have a male) was acted on stage by a male – and sung on the side by a female! Ha! What gender swap is next (I don't know which would be funnier) – the Queen of the Night aria being squeaked out by a man, or Don Carlo being done by a petite woman??


But anyway, on the topic of seasonal change, Spring is definitely making itself noticeable (and in other ways than a laundry drying-outside-difference of 4-5 days or more to 1-2 days)! The sun has shone its (embarrassed) face several times as of late, and the temperatures are up to the mid-40s and 50s. Spring fever has definitely set in, which means one of many things for me - the start of the gardening season! Yes, it is actually a bit to early for it so far, but it's not too early to get a head start! I got some compost soil (should be very nutrient rich for my little balcony garden), as well as some seeds (zucchini will be replacing something this year), and something special - a little greenhouse! It's just a little plastic case-shaped thing with room for soil and a larger green covering for starting seedlings indoors. So I planted some tomato seeds (cherry and larger), as well as zucchini (and a melon seed to see if they are still good). Then I can plant them outside later rather than buying small plants as I did in the past. Know I will just hope that the ground doesn't mold like what happens to many plants on the window sill....!

So, stay tuned for more soon, the next post is in the making!

P.S. By the way, I have no idea what this is supposed to be a picture of, but I found in on my phone and it looks cool!