Jessica + Skiing = not friends

Woo! three day weekend, time to go to Italy....So we arrived Friday on post to wait for the bus. Pack up our ski stuff and hit the road, for a 6 hour drive to the Italian Alps. Bus ride was a little boring, but we finally made it after 8 hrs (traffic + snow = not good). Had dinner of this spinach and cheese thing, steak and dessert was vanilla ice cream with a warm raspberry sauce. Of course, first night there, I'm exhausted, so it's time to go out. The next morning, woke up early and got ready to ski! We drive about 45 minutes to the mountain. I get on the gondola and the nerves continue to grow in my stomach, we arrive to the top and oh yea, it's a red mountain. It took about 4.65 hours to get down and only 1,783 falls, but I made it to the bottom. Due to peer pressure, I took the ski lift back up, had lunch (of yummy spaghetti and bolognese sauce) and went back down. This time, a lot less falling, but still a lot of nervousness. I finally made it down, without a broken bone and waited/thawed on the bus for the others to return. We drive back to the hotel and I jumped in the shower. Dinner was pasta, turkey, spinach and potatoes, dessert was this cutie little cake. We were still exhausted, so that means, time to go out. Went to a local bar, which filled quickly with 14 year olds (didn't I feel old?!) and turns out many of them were in the Army. I made it clear to everyone that I was not skiing the next day, however due to many threats, my attitude changed...

The next morning woke up and went to a mountain closer to our hotel, but a lot further up from the ground. I told everyone either 1 hill or 2 hrs, so the first hill I go on, is my favorite, a red one. I did everything I could to NOT ski down this mountain. I walked side by side, when I fell, I pushed myself down (sledding, if you will). No joke, 4.5 ft from the bottom, I fell and a ski mobile drove passed me and after convincing him, he drove me to the bottom (HAHA). It was quite embarrassing, everyone was staring at me, I got off the ski mobile pretending to limp so I looked like I actually needed it. Make fun all you want, he was a good looking Italian man! Anyway, that was my 1 hill, lunch was a big salad and fries and dessert was getting back on the gondola and returning to the bus to remove the horrible ski boots. The afternoon consisted of a few glasses of wine and some studying (they can go together!!). Back on the bus to go to the hotel. Evening was low key, dinner was lasagna, schnitzel and greens beans (i know, such large meals!), had a glass of wine at the bar and then bedtime.

The last day, it was time to shop! There was a cutie market across from the hotel and then of course many stores right downtown. Lots of walking around until the bus showed up. Lunch was pizza (yum!) and then on the bus for a long ride home. We played this game called Botticelli, which ended up being fun (despite my rant) and arrived back on post at 11PM.

Great weekend all around, Beautiful scenery, good food, good times! ;-)

Bonjour!

Well, made it to Strasbourg France this past weekend. A small, quiet little town, filled with beautiful architecture and in our case, rain (at least on Saturday). We arrived early afternoon, checked in and took the tram to downtown. First stop was the Cathedral. It was really beautiful inside and actually quite large. We then grabbed lunch. Went to a little restaurant and had this yummy salad with walnuts, and what they called croutons, with warm goat cheese on top. Dessert was a chocolate and banana crepe. Continued to walk around the town, we crossed Ponts Couverts, saw Petite France and walked along the river. Dinner was light, just some sandwiches and hot chocolate!, and then back to the hotel. I did get a crash course in skiing. Let's see if I actually remember it. ;) Breakfast was pretty good, had eggs, fruit, PAN AU CHOCOLAT (which clearly I was super excited for), coffee, and fresh OJ. Took the tram downtown one more time to go see the Botanical Gardens (which did not exist due to the cold) and the University. Drove home and arrived in Schweinfurt around 6pm. Very low key weekend, but still nice to get away!

Mind the Gap.....

Just got back from a fabulous trip to London! It was a roomie reunion, rockin good time ;). Arrived late Thursday and met Ginger and Matt at Oxygen bar. Became friends with the bartender and per usual Jessica behavior, ticked off some snotty girls. Anyway, Friday morning, we woke up early and did some touristing, went to Abbey Road, and of course walked across it, the went to the British Museum to see the Rosetta Stone, just like my learning software ;), had lunch of Fish n chips, yum! and then made it down to Waterloo to see Big Ben, Westminister Abbey, and the London Eye. Dinner was Dim Sum (yum! again) and then made it to the Tate (Museum of Modern Art) for some evening fun. Saturday, woke up and took the train to Wolverhampton to watch Aston Villa play Wigan. We played Rummy on the way up, which by the way, I not only won, but I had 'biggest comeback', but who says I am a sore winner ;) The football game was scoreless, but it was super fun listening to the fans sing the ENTIRE time. Football is no joke here, its great! Dinner was pizza and bed time for us. Ginger and Matt got to wake up to go run in the Tough Guy Challenge. Yep, a 10k with obstacles, including a mud slide, fire pit and who knows what else. I made the train back to the airport to wait for my awful flight home. However, I did wait with a famous person! (what!?) Yep, Fernando Verdasco, a Spanish tennis player sat right across from me. What a cutie!! haha. No, I do not have a photo with him (sadness). Made it back Monday AM, with great memories and new excitement for France. Cheers!

The hills are alive...

with the sound of music.... yes, all weekend I was singing that (Michelle can attest!). We were in Salzburg Austria! A weekend full of site seeing/touristing, drinking wine and eating....hmm, sounds like a typical day :) We did everything you could do in Salzburg. We saw Mozart's birthplace (Mozarts Geburtshaus), Leopoldskron Palace, which was Baron Von Trap's House, the Sound of Music Pavillion (photo above), the Festung Hohensalzburg (the HUGE fortress on top of a mountain), but my favorite was Hellbrunn, the beautiful yellow palace. It was like a big playground, it even had a fitness section. However, I climbed up the big hill and got that beautiful picture of the mountains. We then ended our touristing at the Fortress. Due to my awesome sense of direction, we ended up walking down the mountain. At least it wasn't up ;) We definitely deserved our apple strudel! After the long day, we took a nap and then went out to dinner, walked around a little more and then to bed.

Monday, woke up, got a magnet (shocking) and headed back to Schweinfurt. Great trip all around!

From Paris to Berlin....

Ok, so I didn't make it to Paris, but that is how the song goes. Berlin was AWESOME! My co-worker and I took the train early Saturday morning. The train was a good experience. There is a photo posted of one of the trains we were on (and me looking insanely dorky!). We arrived in Berlin, got a cab to the hotel, dropped our luggage and began toursit-ing. First stop was Checkpoint Charlie. This historic marking served as a crossing point between East and West Berlin during the Cold War. On the way to the Reichstag, we passed the Brandenburg Gate (Brandenburger Tor). This is the only remaining gate of a series through which one formerly entered Berlin. The next site was the Reichstag. This is where the German parilament meets. It was a beautiful building (the glass dome) and we got to go to the top and walk around the glass. We then walked to the Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas (Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe). This is a unique memorial in that there are 208 'blocks'. The designer never stated why he chose 208 or the symbolism behind each of these 'blocks', but it is dedicated to the European Jews who lost their lives in the Holocaust. Next stop was the Potsdam Platz, but on the way we saw Vapiano! Woo! One of my true loves in Arlington! ;) Saw Burn After Reading, had dinner and then came back to the hotel. We were exhausted but it was a great first day!

Sunday, woke up to the best breakfast ever*! Walked to see the Berlin Wall and went to the Jewish Museum. Early afternoon came and we headed to the train station to go back to Schweinfurt.

Great weekend away!

*Due to numerous requests, I will go into detail of the breakfast. When we checked in, they told us breakfast was included. I was thinking, oh goody croissants and pretzels. However, when we arrived at the restaurant, I was wrong. There was an omelette station, eggs, sausage, pancakes, a fruit bar with yogurt, a large variety of cheeses, breads (rolls, croissants, no pretzels), and a pastry section, with perfect size chocolate croissants, pound cakes and delicious apple strudels. The coffee was great and the juice was fresh. Ok, so you may not think it was great, but it was! ;)

Neue Jahr

Wow, New Year's in Schweinfurt was definitely something interesting to witness. The center of town was FULL of people drinkng champagne and lighting fireworks. All day I heard the fireworks go off, I literally thought I was getting shot at. It was crazy to see all the firworks go off, there was no regulation, so I got hit by a few of them! (No joke!) FYI, there was no countdown or ball dropping either ;)

Pretzels

How could I not have a whole post dedicated to pretzels?! Seriously, my best friend here, well after my fabulous IKEA blanket, anyway anyway. The pretzels here are delish and for .66 EUR, how can I not make a daily stop? I go to the little bread shop and say, Eine brezel Bitte (One pretzel please). I get this big goofy smile on my face and the lady just looks at me like I'm crazy. However, I could care less. The best time to get these knotted bits of heaven is when they are just from the oven. Oh, you can get them with cheese on it too. (you have to balance protein and carbs!)