Abschlußabend

Today is our last day here in Mauterndorf! We had a great morning skiing on the slopes of St. Michael, which is on the opposite side of Grosseck/Speiereck. We stopped for lunch on a ski hut directly off the trail near the end of the lift. The hut was particularly nice, and everyone was able to enjoy a little bit to drink and eat. After lunch, we skied over to the other side of the mountain where we had been for the past few days. While the trails there are a bit longer and more interesting, they had become very icy with all the use and strong wind. When everyone had had enough, we hopped on the bus back to the Villa for a short pause before dinner. After everyone had eaten, we set off on one last night walk through the fields, by one of the churches, and then up to the nearby castle. At the castle we took advantage of the cafe-restaurant: Glühwein for the adults and hot cocoa for the kids. Guess who showed up?? A Gespent - Ghost!!! He spooked us all and took Christian hostage! Johannes was brave enough to take on the ghost and fight to set his classmate free. Unfortunately the ghost then grabbed Johannes and tossed him in the nearby stocks. He wouldn't let Johannes go until one of the girls gave him a kiss. Luckily, Denise came to the rescue! Soon everything was back to normal and all were smiling. After another short walk through the clear night, we were back home. Since it was the last night, the students all partied together and spent the last hours of the day in our Disco.

Fresh from the Sauna

Today was the coldest yet, but we still had a great morning skiing here in Mauterndorf. We got on the buses after breakfast and were in the gondola by 9:15. After a morning of skiing through the woods and valley, almost everyone was like a popsicle with ice hanging of our scarves and bright red fingers. We were ready to head back to the Villa, but we decided that we would ski back along the path from last night. It took about twice as long to ski it than to walk it, but it warmed us all up. The afternoon was relatively free, with time to read, talk, and write postcards. After dinner, the students all partied in the building's disco. It certainly sounded like they were having a good time! While they were singing and dancing, four of the teachers and I all took advantage of the new wellness and sauna area. It was one of the best parts of the week. When you first walked into the room, you were in an small open area with the WC, some sinks, and a little changing room. Then if you kept walking in, there was a relaxation room with lounging chairs and a heated bench to the left. The walkway curved around to the right and through another arch. On the right was a steam room with eucalyptus, then the sauna itself and finally a double foot bath. On the left were the showers: one of which did a variety of rain type droplets and had various colored lights, temperatures and scents! At the end of the walkway were glass doors that went outside to a fresh air area. We would sit for a few minutes in the sauna and then stand outside in the snow and then shower in the "rain"...then sit in the relaxation for a half hour with light music. Perfecto. It's hard to believe that there is only one more day of skiing. Then on Friday, we leave early to drive back to Bamberg.

-22 degrees Celsius

Bwah. Today was super super super cold. So cold that my ski goggles froze on the outside! By law, the little German kiddies are not allowed to ski more than a half day on the third day of the trip, so we were back at the Villa by lunchtime. In the afternoon, the kids all had to go around the town and answer about 20 questions in a scavenger hunt. They all brought the pages back to me out of breath after running around to find all the answers. After dinner, we went on a Nachtwanderung - Night Hike, or rather a bit more like energetic walking. Anyways, we went through the woods, around one of the local castles, up through some fields, and ended up at the ski center where the teachers and local ski club put on a demonstration. It was neat to be able to watch very skilled people do what they do. They had ski ballet, snowboarding, carving, ski biking, and some old-time skiers to boot. Even though it was still mad cold, the walk back was a quite nice end to the night, especially with tonight's full moon.

Hausgemachter Ribiselschnaps

While today was totally different weather (lots of clouds and snow...meaning that our scarves and goggles were covered in ice after about an hour outside), it was still quite awesome. I can't really explain just what makes it different than all the times at home, but I cannot remember when I was able to ski for two full days and not really feel all that sore or tired. On top of that, the group that I am helping out with is wonderful. There are twelve 7th graders and then one teacher and me. Yay! We were up about 2500 meters today, and the ride down from there was super...once you figured out the minute differences in color between snow, ice and fog. After dinner, the woman that owns the house where we are staying invited the teachers plus me to have some Hausgemachter Ribiselschnaps - Homemade Currant Schnapps. Three shots later the teachers were ready to head back to our 'Villa' and teach the kids about avalanches. Gotta love it!

Greetings from the Slopes of Austria!

Oh my gosh! This places rocks my face off :)

I skied for almost 6 hours today on the slopes of Speierecke and Grossecke here in Mauterndorf, Austria. It's been snowing here for the past 4 days or so and there was sooooo much unbelievable powder. I know you are already jealous...unless you are back in New England and going through this crazy blizzard (can't believe I am not there!!!). I'm here with about 49 students and 8 teachers from one of my high schools on a school trip. Basically that means that I get crazy discounts, don't have to think about anything related to organization, AND get to enjoy the company of many Germans. So cool. I hope to take bunches of pictures starting tomorrow, because even I can hardly believe that I am here. Hope you are all swell! Mwah :)

Mausefalle!

A Night Out...

Yesterday was quite fun. The three other Fulbright Teaching Assistants here in Bavaria came up to Bamberg for a night out on the town. They got here in the afternoon, and we hung out in my building for awhile. Before dinner, we headed out for a few pre-dining beverages. It was all quite tasty. We wanted to go out for sushi, but unfortunately the restaurant had no more open tables. Luckily we are resourceful and grabbed a table at the place next door: Cuba Libre. Quite tasty. After dinner, we meandered back to my dorm through the cold cold night. Paula (one of the students from the UK) had a whole bunch of friends from school here as well, so a big group of us gathered in the kitchen for a few beers and good times. Around midnight, we decided to go out dancing. Not sure where to go, we grabbed a few taxis out to Hallstadt and ended up at Mausefalle (The Mouse Trap). As Frauke put it, it is like a Cuban club but without the cuban. Ponder that one! We had a super fun time dancing till it was far too late. Despite a few kinks, it was a wonderful night that reminded me of why I am here in the first place. Thanks!

Out Celebratin' around 3:30 a.m. at Haas Saele

New Year's Eve: 2004

Willkommen ins neuen Jahr!

What a fun night :) We had a rather lazy day with a bit of exploring Bamberg and some cooking of fajitas. Then Katie's buddy, Marc, came over and we hung out here in my room for a bit. At 11:45, we headed up to the Bambergian Cathedral for champagne and fireworks. Unlike in the U.S., fireworks in Germany tend to be unorganized. So as we were standing there on the cathedral terrasse, whoever wanted to could shoot of fireworks right around us. It was pretty neat, but we are all glad that we didn't get burned and whatnot. Then we wanted to spend the rest of the evening in a club, so we went down the hill to Haas Saele. As you might guess, there were quite a few people out celebrating and it was rather crowded. But regardless, we still had a great time dancing and chilling. We stayed at the club until around 4:30, before heading into the middle of town to get a snack of Kebap. Yumm. Then we wandered back to my room. Our whole goal was to stay awake until it was midnight back on the east coast. When we got back here, we called Katie's house to wish them a Happy New Year. Good times. Then we tried to call my mom and dad, but couldn't reach them out in California. Not as good times. Still had a great night, and soon we were all asleep. Happy New Year's to you all! So far 2005 is grand.

Pinakothek der Moderne

We storm Munich

After a few days in Bamberg, Zach, Katie & I headed down to Munich. We spent the first day just walking around the city. We walked by the opera house and down the most expensive street in Munich, complete with Gucci and all the other stores that most people only looking into longingly. Then we walked through the big open air market and had a snack of some Bratwurste. Next we walked by the toy museum and the town hall. Outside of the town hall, there was a lit Christmas tree. By tree, I mean TREE. This tree was almost as tall as the entire town hall building. It was huge. I cannot imagine someone going out into the forest to get a tree and trying to carry this one home. Unbelievable. Then we played super tourist and went to the Hofbrauhaus for some beer and pretzels. We walked around a bit more before dinner and purchased a few souvenirs. Dinner was amazing. We ate over by the art museum district at a restaurant called Deeba. It was Pakistani and oh so tasty. After the meal, we were all very full, so we went back to our hotel and had a quiet evening. The next day we had breakfast and checked out. As we were walking to the train station to put our suitcase in a locker and buy our ticket back to Bamberg, we walked by a construction site. They were tearing down a building with a construction ball. Don't get to see that too often! Our first big stop of the day with the Pinakothek der Moderne [the modern art museum], where there were many wide-ranging exhibits from design & architecture to surrealism & abstract painting. For lunch, we had sushi around the corner from the musuem. Then we headed to the other side of the city to the Deutsches Museum [German science museum]. This museum is huge. I have been there more than 4 times and have yet to see everything. We went through about one and a half floors, including rooms on physics, chemistry, science & fiction, the history of musical instruments, and aviation. Very cool. It was getting late, so we came headed back to the train station and back to Bamberg.

Christmas Eve at the Steidels'

So how do you celebrate Christmas in Germany?

For the first time, I didn't celebrate Christmas with my whole family. Not the most wonderful situation, but to make up for it, my brother and a friend [Katie] from home came to visit me in Bamberg. We ended up having one very special Christmas. Katie arrived on the 23rd and Zach got here on the morning of the 24th. We spent Christmas eve with the family of some of the teachers that I work with. We went up to their house, as did the French language assistant from Reunion [Afsana] and one of the Czech teachers [Elena] and her boy friend. The entire night was a crazy mix of German, English, French and Czech. Very interesting and unlike any other Christmas Eve I ever had before. When we got to the Steidels' house, we had the first part of their traditional night: fruit salad, bratwurst, and beer. Then we played/sang some traditional Christmas carols, followed by a little bit of improv on American Christmas carols by Zach on Katie's flute. Next we all played interlingual charades. Then it was time for the Bescherung [arrival of Christmas gifts, which are brought by the Christ child], so all of the "kids" went downstairs until we heard a bell ring. When we came back upstairs, the Steidels had lit the Christmas tree and there were present underneath the boughs. In Germany, it is still very common to use really candles and sparklers in the tree. This also means that the trees tend to be a little bit less full than the ones that we always have at home. Can't be setting the whole thing on fire now can we! Then there was a bit of present opening...more so on the Steidels part since it was their home, but they had a little something for everyone there. Soon it was dinner time. The whole meal was amazing. We started with a white asparagus soup. Then there was a venision (that had been shot by one of my fellow teachers earlier in December), red kraut, homemade spaetzle (a german noodle), sauce and so much goodness. There was also ice cream and cookies and special german Christmas cakes. Then we had to head to the Karmelitenkirche for the Christmas Eve mass. Katie and I played music along with Rainer Steidel and a bassonist [Johannes] for about 30 minutes before mass. It was a collection of traditional German Advent songs. Then there was the mass, and after the homily, I played a few movements from a Telemann trio with Rainer and Johannes. The mass ended around midnight and we headed back to my room. Back there we opened Christmas presents and called home for a bit. Then it was time for bed. The next day was the 1st Christmas Day; here in Germany there are 2 Christmas Days. We cooked a big brunch with William, who lives downstairs, and his parents & sister, who are also visiting. Then we hung around for the afternoon, before cooking a lasagna dinner with William's family. After dinner, Katie, Zach, William, Will's sister [Ali], Katie's friend [Marc] and I all went out to Caipi Keller, where some of my students' band was performing. Then Katie, Marc, Zach & I went out to Vamos for a night of Christmas clubbing. lots of fun. On the second Christmas Day, we went to the apartment of Carmen Rascher, who I teach with. She is loads of fun and we all had cookies and Gluehwein. Then we watched a short British film, called "Dinner for One," which is a Christmas/New Year's tradition here in Germany. After that we went out to Blues Bar and listened to some live guitar music. All in all, I have to say that despite not being able to be home, I had a most wonderful Christmas.