Aaahhhhhhhhhdventures: Africa, Amsterdam & Alps

My mom came to visit last week and we traveled all over.  During the first few days of her trip, she helped us unpack and get organized.  She even accompanied me to IKEA.  In Germany, IKEA is also a very scary place, a hellish maze of curtains, shelves, and decor.  This was a crucial shopping trip because Germans do not have closets and apartments have minimal built in storage.  Thus, Germans purchase giant wardrobes called SHRANKS (no joke).  These massive pieces of furniture hold hanging clothes and come in a variety of styles.  Choosing the different components for the SHRANK was challenging to say the least since everything is in German.

Our SHRANK is scheduled for delivery this Thursday and I hope we get what I think we ordered and not a bunk bed.

After our stressful IKEA outing, we had a leisurely 3 hour dinner at the delicious Italian restaurant on our street.  I explained to Cindy that the important Germany delicacies are bread and beer so there was no rush to go out for a German dinner as long as we hit the bakery and bar right away.  

On Sunday, we packed up and flew to Marrakesh, Morocco.  Marrakesh is in the northern region of Africa and has many influences from Arab and European (France) cultures.

I was thrilled to see palm trees and feel some warm weather.  The Atlas Mountains are nearby (background of the pic above).  The majority of the people are Islamic and most of the women are all covered up.  The primary industry is agriculture and they farm everything from oranges to olives to argan oil (Moroccan hair oil ring a bell?) .

We woke up each morning at 6 am sharp to a blasting groan from a large speaker in the city center known as the "call to prayer".  It sounds every day at 6 am and 6pm to call the Muslims to the mosque for daily prayers.  The picture below is the Koutoubia Mosque which is the tallest building in Marrakesh.
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This Koutoubia is not to be confused with a Ketubah (Jewish marraige contract) like the one I signed at Becky & Tan's fabulous wedding last August.

I felt honored signing my first ketubah and sharing this moment with one of my favorite couples on the planet!

Back to Morocco- on our first day, we took a private cooking class with a great chef at a Riad in the Medina (old city).   Moroccans cook with lots of fresh spices and herbs (paprika, cardamom, cinnamon, garlic, ginger...)

Angelica, the chef, was not impressed with our cooking skills.  I couldn't keep up with the chopping pace and motioned to her that my knife must be dull.  She snatched it from my hand and traded me knives.  Then, she proceeded to dice vegetables at an unbelievable rate making me look like a moron.  This chef was very orderly and precise (I can see why some say cooking is an "art").  My mom and I are not talented artists and Angelica was clearly frustrated with both of us.  She frowned as she watched my mom unevenly toss the peas on the lamb tagine.  (pic below- lamb tagine after the chef rearranged the peas).

 After dicing carrotts with a grater, Cindy and I agreed that food processors are the greatest invention. 

The final products were very tasty (but way too much salt - Moroccans love salt!)

The next day, we went on a tour to the Atlas Mountains.  We had traditional Moroccan mint tea with a Berber family.  We also got to see the local artisans.

The man above reminds me of high school when I skipped band class and visited a girl named Leigh Ann who was a master potter in Ceramics class

Camels and Donkeys galore!  Snake charmers and dancing monkeys were also plentiful on the city streets.

The picture above is the local Baker.  He has a huge wood burning oven where he bakes bread and cookies.  Most people are too poor to buy bread or have their own ovens so they bring him dough and he bakes it for a small fee.

On our last day, we had a traditional Moroccan Haman.  This essentially means "bath".  We went to a room that was like a giant shower/steam room and a nice plump lady scrubbed all the dead skin off our bodies.  After the intense exfoliation, she rubbed oil all over our fresh raw skin.  It felt amazing and was a great experience!

Our flight from Morocco to Germany was cheaper by connecting in Amsterdam for one night.  It was a great opportunity to check out the Netherlands.  The city was so beautiful!!

We had less than 16 hours to see as much as possible so we went on a canal tour.  

Amsterdam has many things I love: bike riders everywhere (even in the freezing cold and ice!), canals and houseboats, delicious food and tons of tasty cheap Belgian beers!

I am really excited go back to Amsterdam with Scott!

When we got back to Stuttgart, he was done working and ready for a road trip.  We drove to a town in the German alps called Garmisch. 

 Cindy finally tried a local German weis beer.

Scott went snowboarding so we decided to check out the ski resort.  We went up in the cable car and then decided to do the "walk" to the gondola.  A "walk" to a German = a strenuous uphill monstrous hike

Above pic is Cindy so happy that the hike is complete and she is heading downhill to the Gondola.  We met Scott at the top of the mountain and had a delicious feast of venison goulash, braised cabbage, and warm apple strudel in custard.  The food was devoured before I could think to take a picture