January 19, 2016

Speyer Technikmuseum

January 19, 2016/ Meghan Oaks

The week between Christmas and New Years turned out to be a busy one for us. We went to Switzerland and then we one of my sorority sisters and her husband visit us for a couple of days. They were on a European vacation that started in Turin, Italy and ended in Amsterdam. Quite a trip for only a week! We wanted to show them a little bit of Germany, and we were lucky to find the Christmas market in Speyer was still open. Coming home, they noticed the giant Lufthansa 747 at the Speyer Technikmuseum, and said they had to go (it's good to be friends with like minded people!). Despite living so close, Aaron and I had never been, so plans were made to visit the next day.

January 08, 2016

Ice Palaces, Chocolate, and Pools in Switzerland

January 08, 2016/ Meghan Oaks

The rest of our quick Swiss trip was supposed to be visiting the Ice Palaces in Schwarzsee, about an hour and a half from Adelboden, another interesting experience I found on the My Switzerland tourism website. Again, with our history of building snow statues at Michigan Tech, we thought this would be really cool. And the pictures we saw of them made the whole thing look awesome! We were totally in. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite all it was cracked up to be.

January 05, 2016

Fondue in an Igloo

January 05, 2016/ Meghan Oaks

Before moving to Germany, I wasn't aware that fondue was a Swiss tradition. My experience with it was limited to home made stuff where we had different types of meat that were cooked in hot oil, and the stuff from the Melting Pot restaurants. Traditional Swiss fondue though, is pretty much just a pot of cheese served with bread. When we decided to head to Switzerland for a couple of days after Christmas, we knew we had to try this Swiss specialty. What better way to try it than sitting in an igloo at the top of a mountain in the Swiss Alps?

December 31, 2015

2015 in Review

December 31, 2015/ Meghan Oaks

As the year wraps up, it's only natural to look back and reflect. In our case, 2015 was kind of a big year, it was the first one we spent completely in Germany. We traveled. A lot. It was the Year of the Bucket List. But there are still so many places we want to go to! As we head into 2016, we are in for some even bigger changes and adventures. I won't try to get too nostaligic here, but I always think it's a good exercise to look back, remember what happened, and be thankful for all the good times. Sometimes, I even forget some of the stuff we did. And this is one of the reasons I am glad we blog about it all. Even if no one reads it, at least we have a running journal of the things we did and experienced.

December 25, 2015

Merry Christmas!

December 25, 2015/ Meghan Oaks

From our family to yours, we wish you a very Merry Christmas!
May the holiday be filled with love, laughter, family, and entirely too much food!

December 23, 2015

Christmas Market Round Up

December 23, 2015/ Meghan Oaks

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and most of the Christmas markets are either already closed or will be today or tomorrow. Some will stay open through the new year, but only a very small portion. Last year, Aaron and I spent our weekends in December hitting up some of the bigger, more famous Christmas markets in Germany - Munich, Cologne, and Heidelberg. This year, we switched tactics and tried to visit smaller, more local markets. It was nice to see the big ones last year, but I really think I like the smaller ones better. For one, there are fewer people in general (though not always), and they are usually much less overwhelming than the giant ones found in the bigger cities. But my favorite part, I got to see some new places that I probably would not have visited before, and a couple have been added to our, ''We need to come back here'' list.

December 18, 2015

The Dark Side of Christmas in Germany

December 18, 2015/ Meghan Oaks

In every culture that celebrates Christmas, there seems to be a counter point to Santa Claus or St. Nicholas, mostly in an effort to get children to behave. In the US, naughty children are left gifts of coal in their stockings, while the good children receive toys, books, and games. In Germany, a land not known for sugar coating things, the naughty children face a much worse fate. However, this fate depends on where in Germany you live. Furthermore, since St. Nicholas is celebrated on December 6th, leaving small gifts in the shoes of good little boys and girls, the evening of the 5th is when the naughty children have to watch out from St. Nicholas' ''companions.'' So, who exactly are these companions?