Tag Germany

A CLINK at Passport Control in Germany!

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You might enjoy this story. Recently, as I was traveling and connecting flights, I had to go through Passport Control. As you know, this is always stressful. The lines can be long, we hope it won’t take forever.

When it was my turn, I walked up to the window. I pulled out my passport, I heard a clink, I didn’t think much of it, but wondered why the Agent was looking at me so seriously. They do have intimidating looks.

THEN he lifted up my Angel coin and said, “Is this YOURS?”

“Wow, why YES,” I said smiling.

He tried to keep his serious composure, but had a grin. I told him, ”This is a special moment for both of us! What were the chances that this would happen? Thank you for giving it back!”

I often have an Angel coin in my purse. Somehow, the Angel coin ended up in the pages of my passport.

I hope I’ve made you smile. We never know what surprises await us from day to day!

That day, I did feel like I was being “watched over,” and I bet that Agent felt the same. At least he had a funny story to tell when he took a break.

German hiking socks…

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Last year, I was on the hunt for good quality socks. Lately, all I see in the American stores are fuzzy socks. I’m not sure why the socks have become ultra plush, like the blankets they make now. They feel soft, but no weight, no wool, or quality to them.

Recently, I was in Germany in a department store. I happened to walk through the sports department. I saw these FALKE (German since 1895) socks, merino wool blend. I immediately liked the feel of them. They felt like normal old fashioned socks. They even had an added cushion at the ball of the foot. They were a bit pricey, but worth it. They wash well, I’ve already washed them. I don’t put them in the dryer.

Good marketing – Style (TK2) and size on the bottom of the foot. Brilliant!

They only had one pair of women’s socks in my size, so the top photo with blue socks is men’s size. I decided to give them a go. You see they fit perfectly. The women’s socks were girly in color.

I can wear these FALKE socks for walking and hiking. An added bonus, they tell you what foot to put the sock on Left/Right. One day, I didn’t pay attention. I put the socks on the wrong feet. My daughters were traveling with me. I said, “Why do these socks feel so strange?”

One of my daughters looked down and said, “Mama, you have them on the wrong feet. Follow directions!”We all laughed. A new concept, having to think when you put your socks on.

A major win with FALKE!

Germany, Customs & Arnold Schwarzenegger, BIG fines over Luxury watch…

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Have you seen this in the news? I still don’t understand it completely. Why did Schwarzenegger have to declare the luxury watch. I travel to Europe quite often and I’m never asked to declare anything. Only when I am coming back to America. I don’t think Germany allows for dual citizenship unless that law changed.

Maybe this is because he was going to Auction off the watch in Austria, so then it goes from being a “personal watch” for himself to “selling goods” for profit? So, he had to declare it at the first point of entry into the EU? Someone must have alerted Customs to this.

He had to pay hefty fines: $38,000, including $4,000 tax value and approximately $5,000 penalty. The comedy in this, is that Custom’s credit card machine was not working. So, they brought Schwarzenegger to a bank, which was closed and he could not withdraw enough money due to withdrawal limits.

Curious, the value of the watch was $30,000, so he was paying more than the watch was worth? But then he was going to Auction it starting at 50,000 euros.

Luckily, Schwarzenegger had good humor. His mind immediately went to — GREAT COP MOVIE!

It would be funny to see a movie made out of this situation, with him as the main actor!! Did you know he is 76 years old now. Wow, getting close to 80.

Here is the YouTube video from the Today show.

Great movie idea. I’d go see it!  

From Bavaria, Christmas decorations…

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Walking in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, they had so many beautiful Xmas scenes in the windows. Look at this one of the Angel orchestra, how clever.

Another nice touch, they decorate with small Christmas trees outside their homes. They have electric candles on the trees. In the old days, they actually used real lit candles.

Here you have stuffed bears in the windows. This was a Teddy Bear shop.

This was such a simple tree. I’ve always liked hearts, what a great idea! The red felt hearts stand out because of the light wood. I would do this.

This was interesting, so earthy the way they decorated their window with wood, etc. The cakes, I didn’t touch them, but they look like hardened sand, clay or concrete? 

I fell in love with their door stops. I haven’t seen these in America, but I don’t think we have as heavy doors as they have. Where we stayed, in a charming old home, they had different door stops on each door. This HOME was on ours, but there was a cat that I liked.

As I walked the neighborhood, I came across a sewing store. She had patterns of a reindeer door stop. Of course, I had to buy it and a pattern for a cute bear, I bought that too.

So, there you have it. Another quick visit around Rothenburg ob der Tauber.

I have to say, it did get me in the mood to decorate, make Christmas fun in a NEW way!

Have a great weekend!

Merry Christmas! 

A Bavarian puzzle leads to Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Germany

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Last year, I found a Bavarian puzzle. I fell in love with this Bavarian city, but the puzzle box did not mention where this city was. I sent the photo to different people asking and asking, “Does this city exist?”

Finally, someone told me, it’s a medieval town in Germany called, “Rothenburg ob der Tauber” north of Munich. So, I started to formulate a plan to visit Bavaria. First Munich, then Rothenburg ob der Tauber for the Christmas Markets. Then fulfill another dream of seeing Andre Rieu in concert.

My daughters were on board and we started our pre-Christmas journey to Germany a week ago. Munich was lovely, so fun and festive to be there this time of year. We had plenty of sausages!

In Munich, we saw the Haribo store. Of course, we stopped in.

Then we headed to Rothenburg ob der Tauber. They had a Teddy Bear store, you can see in the photo that there was a Teddy Bear blowing bubbles from the window. What a great idea! It did catch our attention.

This was a lovely Advent Calendar. Each door we opened would play music and surprisingly there was enough space behind each door to put a chocolate or a small ornament as a surprise.

In Rothenburg, this was the main market where they had a lot of shops. It was wonderful to see the people out with their families enjoying the Christmas Markets, the food, the wine, etc.

Finally, after our visit in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, we headed to Maastricht in The Netherlands to attend the Andre Rieu concert. I’ve watched Andre Rieu on PBS for over 20 years. Always with a goal to see him in person. Realizing that he is now around 74 years old, it was time to go. Perfect for Christmas.

The music and his orchestra were fabulous. We had good seats, row 7 to the left of the stage. He had dancers on two ice rinks on either side of the stage and dancers also came in between the isles where we sat. So, it was extremely festive.

I wish all my Blogging friends a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! If don’t celebrate Christmas, I wish you a very HAPPY HOLIDAY!

On to 2024 soon!

Founded right here in Chicago in 2010, Revolution Brewing. I walked in a store and at the entry were these boxes of German-Style Lager. Love the advertisement. I also like lager style beers. While I’m not a regular beer drinker, during Oktoberfest, it’s fun to have one.

We are at the tail end of Oktoberfest.

If you haven’t been to Munich for Oktoberfest, here’s a great YouTube video discussing the different beer tents you can visit. Lots to choose from.

Here’s to next year! If the dollar stays strong a trip to Munich will be lots of fun!

Cheers!

Oktoberfest – Last chance…

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Italy – Hotel v.s. Monastery stays…

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When I tell someone I stayed at a monastery, they give me a strange look. Am I overly religious OR becoming a Nun. It does make me smile. I know they are missing out by being narrow minded.

A few years ago, I was in Florence for an extended period. Given that, I searched hotels, hostels, etc. for a more economical way to stay there. Up popped this website — www.MonasteryStays.com. You can see from the Home page, it looked interesting. I was intrigued.

To date, I have stayed at three monasteries in Florence, one in Assisi, one in Cortona and one in Rome.

The monastery in Cortona felt like a boutique hotel. You would not know it was a monastery. FABULOUS!! In fact, I did not see any Nuns around. Don’t quote me, but I think they had TVs in the room.

Here’s what you should know. While each monastery is different, they do have similarities:

  • Breakfast served at a certain time. Sit where your name is placed on the table.
  • Breakfast – bread, butter/jam, yogurt, lunch meat, cereal, fruit, coffee/tea. Unique to each stay.
  • When you leave monastery, leave your key at reception.
  • Curfew, need to be in by 11 or 12 pm, depends on the monastery.
  • TVs, some monasteries have them, some don’t.
  • Wifi — yes, most of them.
  • Summer – check if they have air conditioning.
  • Note: Sometimes the Nuns only speak Italian or at reception they have an English speaking person.

WHO CAN STAY? Anyone – single, married, parents with kids, workers who are on assignment stay there. Now, honeymooners??? LOL – if you are loud at sex/love making, you certainly would have ALL of us entertained and in shock. In fact, I imagine the cross hanging in my room would start shaking. The monasteries do tend to be quiet.

HOW ARE THE ROOMS? I must say, quite spacious and nice. Great bathrooms.

This was my place in Rome. Nice, very clean and a balcony. LOVE the white pressed sheets! Resembled some normal hotels I stayed in Munich.

Trying to think if I missed anything. If you browse the Monastery Stays website, you’ll see ALL the rooms, read through what they offer. Good rates too.

Any questions… leave a comment, happy to answer.

REALLY love the monastery stays. Wish they had this type of website for Germany.

Munich — Department Store Holiday Window Decorations

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On Sunday, all of the stores were closed in Munich, except places to eat and the Christmas Market stalls. This was good, because there weren’t as many people out, so I could walk and really look at the store windows.

I thought you’d enjoy these holiday decorations. Really beautiful with the gigantic nutcrackers. Notice that I was able to take pictures with no “shoppers” in the photo. The store had Christmas music playing in English, I was singing along.

The perfect way to end the day!

German Oktoberfest is here! Time to go to Munich.

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Oktober fest collageI almost forgot it was Oktoberfest! I was at Cost Plus / World Market the other day and they had a German section of food for Oktoberfest celebrations. The usual variety of sausages, mustards, beers, spaetzle, pretzels, chocolates and more.

Lederhosen group of men

Have you ever been to Munich for Oktoberfest? It’s really beautiful to see the men in their lederhosen and the women in their dirndles. I think this is the only place in the world where you will see grown men wearing leather shorts with bright colored shirts and as you see in the photo, you have to have the right shoes and socks too!

schnitzel

They really celebrate with fabulous music, singing and good food. Who can resist some schnitzel?! It’s a special tradition they have. My in/laws are German, so we always celebrated with their German friends, it was fun! They would sing all the German songs together, locking arms together swinging back and forth. Singing from their hearts.

My favorite is the Chicken Dance, here is a Youtube video (Wurstfest – How to Chicken Dance) that explains the steps for the chicken dance. In Germany, (EVERYONE) old and young get up to dance this dance. Enjoy this German tradition!

German Christmas Ornaments

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1F9F01D6-5279-4FA9-9462-F1CDADE719EFThis past weekend was the start of Christmas shopping. I say, “Christmas,” because for many of us it’s when we start putting up the Christmas tree after Thanksgiving, hanging the lights inside and outside and finding those special ornaments to put on the tree.

Every year I look for new ornaments. I like to send them as gifts. I had a lucky find this weekend. I came across a German Christmas Market. I was in America, but I felt like I was in Munich, Germany. Wonderful!

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They had similar ornaments that I would find in Germany, hand made, so a bit expensive, but as you can see from the photos, really darling. Everyone was enjoying themselves.

One special item that Germans put up is the Christmas Pyramid. I learned this from my mother/n/law, because Italians do not have this. Every year, out came the Christmas Pyramid and we would scramble to find candles to light, so that the propellor would fly around in a circle. Here you see a larger pyramid that they put up in a town in Europe. Ours was much smaller.

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When I was young, we had a German neighbor and they put small candles on the tree and lit them. Can you imagine what a possible fire hazard that was?  BUT they never burned their house down. While we enjoyed the lit candles on the tree, we would play a game of Canasta!

Memories… it’s nice if we still have them!