endlich zu Hause

Here we are in (you guessed it) rainy, cold Berlin!

We arrived yesterday evening to a very warm welcome from our new roommate, Jason. Our new place, which our program coordinators have rented for us, is a huge two-bedroom flat in a very nice part of town, very near the center of Berlin in a neighborhood called Prenzlauer Berg. Our new info:

Belforterstrasse 16
2. Stock rts
bei Prüske
10405 Berlin
Germany

49 30 4809 5633
49 30 4809 8472

I cannot guarantee the functionality of either phone number but you can try! I think one of them should work. We are probably going to be home a lot so call whenever you want, if you so desire...

We are really lucky to have chosen to live in the apartment. Not only is it beautiful, full of books and antiques and quirky old postcards, but we travelled out with everyone else in the class today to their new homes in Biesdorf, in the student dorms. It takes 40 minutes to get there from the main station, and it is really ... quiet out there. So we chose well! Our neighborhood is full of good food and cafes and lively people.

Our German is getting us by. My Uncle Walter told us we should stick very strictly to`nur Deutsch,´which is a very good idea but harder in practice, especially when the majority of our classmates don´t speak it and our classes will be taught in English. Between the two of us, however, we will try.

My next big project will be to try to get pictures up here somehow. The internet connection at the house is extremely expensive and there are a few technical difficulties, but we shall overcome them and then you will have, probably, more pictures than you actually want to look at.

Thinking of all of you and of those last beautiful September days in Seattle, how the light shines on the buildings at dusk, and the smell of pavement and rain and wet leaves. It comes back very strongly, and I am a little sad to be missing it. Over the weekend the sun is supposed to peek out here... and since it will be our last one without tons of homework I guess we´ll try to enjoy it!

the hospitality of the Bierbrauers

We are having a wonderful time with my aunt and uncle in Stuttgart. They have fed us, helped us wash clothes, given us walking tours of the town, picked us up and dropped us off, oohed and ahhed over our travels, and made things ever-so-homey for us when we are quite far away from the familiar. They are wonderful!

Today Chance and I took a half-hour train ride to Heidelburg, where we took a really informative tour of the castle. Pictures are so near we can almost taste them -- tomorrow we take the train back to Berlin and as soon as I figure out how to plug my computer into the wall, we will show you all what we have been up to!

Sending much love ...

we have decided to learn Italian.

Hello from rainy, cold Vienna!

We have decided to make learning Italian our next big goal. Yesterday was spent in Bologna, which is sort of in the center of Northern Italy. It is built of a red stone (mined locally) and all of its sidewalks are porticoed with beautiful pillars and stone floors. It was balmy and sunny, and around 1pm everything shuts down and everyone goes out into the squares to eat lunch and talk and sun themselves. People have dogs and frisbees... every two feet there is a shop with piles of delicious food, and there are gorgeous churches and old buildings everywhere you look.

Before we left Cinque Terre we invested in snorkelling gear and took a look at all the little fishes that swim near the rocks on the bulkhead just a short swim from the beach. It was amazing! Clear blue water and so many different kinds of fish ...

Last night we took the night train to Vienna, and here we are at a nice Aussie-run hostel, doing our laundry. It is very cold and very rainy here (reminding us of home!) and we need to buy an umbrella and a few warm clothes. We'll try to take in some music while we're here, plus some of Vienna's huge art collections.

Don't forget to leave us a comment if you stop by and read! We're thinking of you ...

life on the Mediterranean

Hello at last!

Since Wednesday evening we have been travelling far and fast ... our first stop was Paris. We saw Notre Dame, Montmartre, and Ste Chappelle (our favorite, which I will gush about when I post the pictures) all in 24 hours, and also managed a rather squished night's sleep in a hostel before heading south to Nice.

We were rather baffled by the French way of organizing grocery stores, bakeries, restaurants, and cafes, plus dealing with jet lag and language barriers, it proved a little bit of a challenge. But after a day or so we found a lovely little hotel with a window onto a bustling little courtyard, and found out that the really good public beaches are just a train ride away in Cannes, where you can also catch a boat out to the island of Ste Margeurite, where the Man in the Iron Mask was held prisoner. It's a national park, with little trails criss-crossing it, and lots of lovely little picnic areas. We spent a really great afternoon exploring it!

Then we got up very early in the morning and caught the train to gorgeous Italy. We are now in Cinque Terre, staying in the village of Monterosso. It is so lovely, we are tempted never to go back to Berlin! It's warm and sunny, and we took a tiring but beautiful hike through the vineyards to the next village, where we enjoyed coffee on a terrace overlooking the water and painted fishing boats ... it is certainly postcard-perfect here.

Tomorrow we make our way through a yet-to-be-determined Italian city to Salzburg on a night train. Over we're off to meet my cousin Jeff in Munich, spend a day or two with his family in Stuttgart, and then we hit the books in Berlin! We are trying to make the most of our last fleeting days of free time (and sunshine, which we probably won't see for another 9 months!!).

Hoping everyone is well! We miss you!

My cousin Jeff made it so that we could stay at his friend's apartment (the friend is surfing in France). This is the courtyard onto which the apartment's balcony faces. It's a great apartment and not too expensive, which gives us hope of finding a nice place when we need one in January.

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safe, sound, and happy to be on the ground

We have arrived!

Flights were fine, not too bumpy, and we had little touch screens on the back of the seats in front of us that had games and movies we could select and even a camera that looked out below the plane ... modern technology is really something. Now we're just waiting for them to invent that thing on Star Trek that just beams you up. We agreed that no matter what sort of in-flight entertainment is provided, being in economy class for 9 hours just isn't fun. Thankfully we don't have to do it again for three months.

My very wonderful cousin Jeff met us at the airport with a car, making the trip to his place even easier than we had imagined -- usually there are a bus and a train involved. Now we are sitting comfortably at his place with tummies full of Turkish food. (Chance just fell asleep on the couch.)

It's been over a year since we visited Berlin last, but somehow it feels like we never left. It is nice and balmy outside, though, which is a real change from March, when we were here last, during which your nose is apt to freeze off! Our German feels a bit rusty, but served enough to speak with the customs agent who was curious as to why we had so many suitcases. He smiled and was impressed to find out that we were students staying for a whole year with only two medium-sized suitcases each.

We are very happy to be here! Tomorrow we plan our two-week adventure on the Eurail system. First, some sleep. Bon nuit!

No, we haven't left yet ...

But I'm lavishing you all with promised pictures taken with the new digital camera! We are enjoying our last couple of days in Seattle by ...

... playing with the most adorably furry dog ever ...

... having a lovely Friday evening with our friends who showered us with fabulous gifts both tangible and intangible. We are so lucky to have you - thanks guys!

... going to Joe Bar Saturday morning for the most wonderful breakfast imaginable -- (here is Bill bringing crepes up the stairs)

... a tasty crepe, the world's most delicious coffee, and pastries. Yum.

... and finally, a trip to one of our favorite spots to relax in Seattle, Volunteer Park. (Robyn's shadow is hiding somewhere in there!)

... where they just refurbished the lily ponds. We recommend a visit if you haven't gone there lately.

... alas, like this squirrel, we are running away. Monday we fly, and our next post should be from beautiful Berlin! Auf Wiedersehen, Seattle! We'll miss you!

a big thank you

Thank you, everyone!

With all your wonderful gifts of birthday and bon voyage money, we bought a lovely digital camera (a better one than we would've been able to afford) and travel books, and still have some left over for something special. Thank you again for your love - you guys mean more to us than we can say.

I also just wanted to let you all know a technical detail about leaving a comment on this site. If you click on the 'comments' button at the end of this post, it will take you to a page where it asks you to sign in. Just click on 'post anonymously' (it's a little bit small and hard to see, but it's there under the name and password boxes) and then you can skip signing up for anything, and still leave us a comment. It seems they have to make everything more complicated now.
(Keep in mind that the comments can be read by everyone! :) )

I'll post a pic from our new camera a little later ...