Camping galore...

I have been super busy working (teacher & House Frau duties) plus planning our upcoming road trip to Holland & Denmark so blogs will be posted every 2 weeks.

Here are a few quick updates:

My childhood camping experience was limited since Cindy & Ira's idea of camping was staying at a Holiday Inn Express.  My Uncle Jim once took us and our white water rafting "guide" was tossed into the rapids.  

Anyway, Scott has been "craving nature" so we went camping with Joe & Mariel in the German alps.  GI Joe is a master outdoorsman so I felt safe as we hiked all day into the mountains where we pitched our tent.  

Our campsite where Scoots spotted mountain goats in the distance

It started raining as soon as we set up camp but we stayed dry and peacefully slept (Scoot) / froze to death (Me) in the middle of nowhere (Since acquiring frostbite, I have ordered a legit sleeping bag rated for negative degrees). 

Up front- Body (Gi Joe's camping dog)

Last weekend, we rode our bikes 16 kilometers to Esslingen.

For more info:  http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Das_Dick

The Stuttgart Hashing Club was on a pub crawl that began at 10 am.

Monopoly was the theme (a bar for every spot on the board - very ambitious bar crawl

By the time we joined them (3-ish pm), many appeared tanked and hilarious.

Scott's boss Jim on right

Our diverse crew of friends (all ironically from Charleston but we met them in Germany)

Teaching Germans is interesting because I am learning a lot about their culture and their opinions/stereotypes of Americans.

Random info I have learned from my classes:

- "Kehrwochev" is governmental assistance for homeless people.  In Stuttgart, they each get 11 euro per day with an additional 5 euro if they own a dog (I found this totally mind-blasting since I have been curious how so many homeless have adorable pooches)

- Germans don't celebrate Fathers day with gifts but instead spend the day drinking lots of beer and hiking as a family.

- Over 60% of Germans rent for life and never buy homes (thus, they were shocked about the housing bubble/mortgage crash in the USA)

Teaching Topics:

- Students were amazed by my lesson on Amish people (in an effort to show that not all Americans are consumers...)

- They also enjoyed "Waiting for Superman," a documentary about poor inner city schools in the USA (they thought that ALL American schools resembled Saved By The Bell)

- Gun Control (As the most conservative teacher in our private school, I provided readings from both the NRA website and The New York Times)

If you (reader) have any suggestions for topics (current events, American culture...) please send them to me ASAP!

So Friday we are headed on a trip that includes many nights of sleeping outside in a tent on the ground.  For some reason, I pictured a warm and sunny summer camping trip (even Michigan is hot and sunny in July).  However, Central Europe has been experiencing record low temps (of course, the year we moved here).  Please pray for me :)

Mom & Megano's Culinary/Cultural Adventures

When I was 19, I went to Italy with my mom and Granny Pat.  At the time, my wine experience was limited to Boone's Farm and an occasional chug from of a box of Franzia.  After travelling with my mom and Grandma, it became clear that I inherited their love of travel & Italian red wine. Cindy and I had always hoped to go back to Italy so we planned a trip to Lake Como.

We drove our car on an exciting journey from Stuttgart.  I navigated as Cindy steered us around the snow capped mountains of the Swiss alps by way of giant blue-green lakes and long tunnels which eventually led to the windy roads of the Italian hillside.  Cindy, a professional DC driver, handled the hairpin turns like a pro as the Italian scooters weaved around us.  

Almost half of the drive was overlooking lakes like this

The scenic drive was breathtakingly beautiful

We arrived at Hotel Darsena and the staff greeted us enthusiastically.

Red building is La Darsena- our lakefront hotel in Tremezzo- perfect location

  We walked a few blocks to the impressive Villa Carlotta gardens.  The air smelled of sweet jasmine mixed with fresh mountain air.

Diverse variety of plant species

Cactus  (or cacti?) garden

View of lake from the gardens

After the garden walk, we sipped Compari cocktails at a lakeside pool bar with a tremendous view and relaxing ambiance.

View from the bar

Hooray we made it back to Italy!!!

Sick euro speedos optimize even tans

Italian rowing? 

Our hotel restaurant seated us at a private table on the lakefront deck.

Our view at dinner- we became regulars at this table for breakfast each morning

Rainbow in the distance at dinner

Cindy was in awe of the majestic sky at sunset

Surprisingly few boats out 

The next day we enjoyed a delicious breakfast and then hiked the Como Greenway Path to the local villages.

The hike provided a different perspective of the lake from high above the rooftops



We discovered a beautiful cemetery with massive gravestones.

Some graves even had pictures of the deceased with regal Italian names (Lorenzo, Fabio, Luigi, Giacomo, Gaston...

We noticed at least 3 Gelateria cafes in every town.  While Gelato is available all over the USA and Germany, it still tastes best in Italy (creamier perhaps).

Alcohol + Ice Cream =  Digestive Combination (hard to believe for those lactose intolerant)

A local wine bar, according to Trip Advisor reviews, was a "must see" while in Tremezzo.  It was so wonderful that we ended up staying for wine & dinner! 

View from wine bar- Cantina Follie

We each ordered a wine flight and shared a cheese plate.  The waitress provided a detailed description of each cheese (region, animal, family history, sexual preference, age...)  I loved the onion jam, mango chutney, and honey combined with the hard goat cheese and delicious soft buttery cheeses.

On left: Local Specialty Braseola  (thinly sliced lightly smoked beef with marinated mushrooms and aged Parmesan)

The next day we took a ferry to Bellagio (prior to this, I had only been to the Las Vegas Bellagio with my best pal Leon- another memorable trip).

Lake Ferry is primary mode of transportation (2nd most popular- scooter or bike)

View of Lenno (best cold pressed olive oil producer) from the ferry

In Bellagio, we walked the Villa Mezzi gardens.

Our hotel in Tremezzo is directly across the lake

View from Villa Mezzi

Many years ago, Villa Mezzi and Villa Carlotti competed to have the best garden.  

Lilly pads are rad

Small fishing village near Bellagio

From the gardens, we hiked up to Silvio, a local seafood cafe.  Silvio is frequented by locals because the chef is also the fisherman so everything is caught fresh daily.

View from lunch 

We shared the "fish special" appetizer and it was truly special indeed!

Fish pate, fish crumbles, fish marinated in vinegar, fish with parsley, eggplant...

After lunch, we discovered LIDO beach club (free access) with music, cocktails, and water sports.

I would love to come back and spend a day here

Our last night in Tremezzo was bittersweet as we enjoyed one more phenomenal meal.

La Darensa (aka succulent fish sampler)

Best risotto ever (asparagus and goat cheese)

Sun-kissed Cindy contemplates life and visions of Ira as she basks in the romantic reflection of sunset on the lake.

We drove back to Stuttgart the next morning to spend time with Scott 

Cindy and her favorite son in law at our neighborhood beer garden

Cindy felt it was necessary to try a traditional Bavarian meal of wursts (sausages), potato salad, sauerkraut, and Paulaner hefeweissen.

In my opinion, this looks rather unappealing after our gourmet Italian trip

I bought us 2 tickets to see the Stuttgart Ballet featuring 3 world famous choreographers.  One might think, "Megan, you don't seem like the ballet type" or "you must be out of your mind."  Indeed, this was a bucket list item for Cindy and if I had to judge excursions, going to a 3.5 hour ballet ranks slightly below ice fishing in Antarctica.   

 We got dressed for the Opera House and I embraced this unusual cultural experience.

Me on right: appearing thrilled to go to the ballet :)

The Opera House was a regal venue on a beautiful warm night.

Cindy "dreams do come true!"

We had optimal seats only 5 rows back from the stage.

Happy to have a view of my tuba playing brotherhood in the pit

I enjoyed watching the ballerinas immensely (a sentence I may never utter again).  I could clearly see their plastic cheerful grins as they twisted and convulsed their bodies into wildly uncomfortable excruciating positions. It's amazing how they managed to twist and bend and jump and stretch their limbs.  Fortunately, I had seen the movie Black Swan so I had some prior ballet knowledge. Years of Barre Evolution fitness classes also taught me how challenging these moves can be for any athlete. The male ballerinas, with their toned and defined abdominal  and gluteal muscles, were a true spectacle as they pranced and skipped all over the stage in the most graceful form any musclemen can prance.  The athleticism and synchronized skills of all the ballerinas was truly impressive.  In fact, I would even recommend the ballet to others (not including Ira or Skip).

It was wonderful having my mom back to visit us and share some new exciting experiences together!  I just wish my grandma was able to join us

Megano' in Paradise (Lake Como Italy): Blog postponed

African Delights, Stuttgart Explorations, and Fascist Yoga

This blog post will be short and sweet since I just started my new teaching job and need to focus all brain power on my lesson plans...

Also, more importantly:  Happy Birthday Father Ira!  Since I was a young bundle of joy, you have taught me valuable life lessons (gambling, deep knee-bend stretches, proper golf etiquette, concocting perfect chocolate milk...) which I can now proudly share with my German students.  

Colorful plates full of fibrous nutrients

We enjoyed a relaxing weekend in our neighborhood and discovered Ebony, a friendly and radiant African dining experience.

Fish in spicy sauce with injera and veggies

After dinner, we met some friends to watch the German equivalent to the Super Bowl, the final match in the Bundesliga (German Soccer League).   Stuttgart played Bayern Munich (The Winners of the Champions League) and it was surprisingly fun to watch since the Germans showed rarely seen intense emotion.

Scoots sporting his Soccer jersey - Go Asheville!

The glorious sun came out the following afternoon so we went on a mission to find a statue that we can see far off on a hill from our apartment windows.

We eventually came across a helpful sign directing us to what resembled the statue:

We climbed up a path along the hill and found the mysterious structure:

The best part about our hike was the view from the top:

 Sunny day led to a gorgeous sunset!

View from our balcony

Our neighborhood has a Bikram Yoga studio so we signed up for the new student trial membership.  This studio is similar to Bikram in the USA (HOT, sweaty, exact same sequence of postures).

However, everything is taught in German by an intense authoritarian Bavarian woman.  Her dictatorial nature was frightening as she glared and demanded "breath out your nose and look straight ahead" (I tend to have ADD so my eyes wander and Scott is a heavy mouth breather).   

Another teacher (hairy German tyrant in tight euro-speedo) grabbed Scott as he was leaving the room, fingers tingling on the verge of passing out, and tried to convince him to "stay and sit still."  

In fact, one day 2 students had to carry a poor girl out of class because she was unconscious.  The totalitarian female instructor yelled at me as I snuck out to use the restroom and even hunted me down after class to insist that I must "urinate" before class begins (seriously? I thought I was supposed to arrive hydrated).  It appears the only acceptable time to leave class is if you can't do so on your own free will.  

This does not mesh with the non-competitive, relaxed, "listen to your body" yogic attitude I have come to love.  Thus, I am not fond of Bikram Yoga Stuttgart and will not hurry back after our 10 day trial expires. 

 Peace Love Namaste