Photo Shoot!

So I've managed to scan a few pictures from our first few days in Europe... see the captions below for explanations of each photo. We had an awesome time on the trip...stay tuned for next week's edition!

Jenny

So we got on the train with a Schönes Wöchenende ticket, and then they wouldn't let us off at St Goar! So we ended up in Boppard, hoping for another train...

We finally made it back to St Goar, a lovely little town on the Romantic Rhine... Our hotel is the tan building on the right - the Hotel Hauser.

This is a view of Burg Katz across the Rhine... we were the only people in the hotel!

After Burg Rheinfels, we went on to Bacharach, where we stayed in Burg Stahleck, an AWESOME hostel at the top of a pretty steep climb. The view wasn't bad, but I imagine it is more beautiful in the summer!

Down the hill from Burg Stahleck are the remains of a red sandstone chapel - it was destroyed in the 17th Century during the wars of Succession, I believe (I'll have to look that one up...)

This is the inside of the Dom, the largest cathedral in Europe. The stained glass dates from the 1300s, right after the Dom was first constructed.

This is the Dom in Köln, with the Weinnachtsmarkt out front. Credit to Travis for the awesome photo - I took the picture, he reminded me to overexpose!

Cooking for a grade?? What a concept!

Well, I've had my first class at MCC. I think it was successful - nobody got hurt, and everyone seemed mildly interested at least. I bored everyone with the syllabus (of course), then we had an oil and salt tasting. The Himalayan salt was a highlight - mostly because it was pink and came with a cool wooden scoop - and the olive oil infused with blood oranges was the winner in that category. The cabernet vinegar was tasty as well - I had one student ask me if there was alcohol in it, since it tasted just like a cabernet!

I am a little worried about the workload (especially since I still have to keep up on my normal job at SUSD) but I figure I'll work ahead on a few weekends here and there. Lori Z, my boss, told me that it's not unusual to be working out the lesson the night before!

Next week we'll have our first full-length cooking class. We're studying stocks and sauces. It should be cool - we'll make hollandaise, and sauce bordelaise, and pesto, and I don't know what else. Then we'll grill off some chicken, steam or sauté some veg, and have supper. HOORAY!

On a different note, we picked up our pictures from CostCo, and aside from a few technical blunders on the developers part, they look pretty good. I've got 3 more rolls waiting at the developers, so I will scan and distribute photos this weekend, I hope. Nanny & Grandpa (Travis' Grandparents) plan to come see us on March 11th. I hope to have the scrapbook done by then.

Well, I better sign off and start working on grading papers - ACK!

So until next time - Guten Appetit!

We're Baaaaaaaccckk....

Only 24 hours from Stuttgart to here? What a deal! Too bad the luggage didn't make it!

Well, we're back. And getting used to the time change. And missing our cheap fizzy water already. Our bags haven't made it back yet, but they are on their way from London right now. So we hope to see them tonight. And we also hope they don't break all our souvenirs. At least they won't get thrown on another airplane after customs is done searching them.

On a high note, our trip was AWESOME. We had a great time - and it was hard to come back!

Here are the highlights, sans pictures:

Week 1:
St Goar, castles on the Rhein, Koeln Christmas shopping in Brugge, Belgium, Christmas Dinner with Bobby and his Exchange Student friends at the Dorm in Stuttgart

Week 2:
Snowshoeing in the Alps, Vienna museums, Hiking in the Bekydy mountains, visiting Ales and Jitka at the cottage, New Year's Eve at a Czech pub and the power goes out...

Week 3:
Standing Room Only train to Praha, Praha pubs with Ales Pelikan, Prague Castle at Night to ourselves, Mucha Museum, Zuzana and the boys in Litomerice, Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, East Side Gallery, Pergamon Museum, Glass Dome at Reichstag, Brandenburg Gate

Last day in Germany:
Currywurst und Pommes, Sausage, Beans and Chips, Invader Zim (Hello Floor! Make me a samich!)

We got home last night at 10:30, so we don't have any photos yet, but we hope to have some to post soon. Thanks to everyone who watched our house - everything was fine when we got home. We even had a new hall tree waiting for us in the living room!

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Tchuss!