07 August 2013

Venetalphütte

The  Tyrolean Alps are gorgeous. They tower above the valley floor, but it doesn't take a genious to figure out they are much more beautiful from their peaks and ridges. 

In Tirol, you MUST find a way to go up. Today, we satisfy our fix and meet up with Herbert Reiter, Niki's mentor teacher at the Handelsakademie in Imst, where she taught English from 2003-2005. Herbert, like many a Tiroler, is in love with  the mountains. Though he is in his 60s and recently picked up the half-marathon bug, he still claims that the fresh mountain air, not the running, is what keeps him young and fit.

After aquick stop to say hello to the admins & office staff at the HAK, Herbert takes us on a familiar route to Venetalphütte, a pub that sits along the ridge overlooking Pitztal, Inntal, & Gurgltal (tal is the German word for valley). This was the very same route he took us snowshoeing back in December of 2004. Along the way, we chatted & picked from an abundance of wild berries,  herbs,  flowers, & mushrooms. Roughly 3 hours later, we were nearly atop the Alps having a beer and some Speckknödl- and Käsknödlsuppe (Tyrolean versions of soup with dumplings).

Fresh air, spectacular views, great food, & even better company.  There is not much more to ask for in life, we only wish Keegan and Averi could be here with us.

Unlike a hike in the Cascades,  the mountains in Tirol are working farms. You might not see any bears or mountain lions,  but you will surely run into some Cattle roaming the mountainside chomping happily away at the grass. The cows come to the barn on their own to be milked when their udders are full. Goats and sheep are typically fenced off in rather large chunks of hillside.

After our hike,  we made our way back into Imst, which is growing and expanding exponentially.  What was a sleepy alpine village just 8 years ago is now bustling with traffic,  cranes,  construction, and even a new mega-roundabout. Yet, Imst has continued to battle and win the fight to avoid having a single stoplight in the valley.

We end the day with a Schnapps at Herbert's house,  thanking our food fortune to have such amazing friends spread out across the globe.

28 July 2013

Hochzeit Bojaryn

The entire reason this trip came about was the wedding of Julia Baatz & Jan Bojaryn.
Julia was Niki's exchange student from Cologne in 1998.  Julia and Niki were a perfect match and have been the best of friends ever since.  When Niki and I were married, Julia flew in to partake in the wedding.  Upon news of her engagement with Jan, we jumped at the chance to return the favor.

THURSDAY
Julia & Jan, and their 11 month old daughter, Lotta, live & work in Dresden, so their friends and family had to come from all across Germany for the wedding.  Many came in on Thursday night, so we had a big dinner party at an Italian restaurant around the corner from their flat.  The restaurant is called Toscana and has a beautiful outdoor setting which was perfect as it has been VERY hot here in Dresden this week.
At Toscana, we reunited with much of Julia's family and met some that we did not previously know.  Gerhard, Julia's uncle, is the type of guy that every party needs: funny, out-going, and has plenty of world experience & stories that keep you entertained for days.
Another of Julia's family that has a very interesting life-story was Nahle (Renata). I had a great conversation with Nahle, who is now 82 years old & is fit as a fiddle.  She lived in a part of Germany that is now Poland during WWII & very clearly remembers fleeing west, away from the Russians, at the end of the war. She has a fondness for Americans because of this experience.

FRIDAY (the Wedding)
Julia & Jan enjoy a much more progressive life than most typical Germans. Their wedding, while it echoed a traditional format, had very much their own style, in which friends, family, & the journey is more important than the end product.
The actual ceremony took place in the Standesamt, the German version of City Hall.  It was a beautiful and small traditional ceremony....with a twist.  Rather than your typical wedding music, Jan & Julia walked to songs from the Flight of the Conchords (The Muppets Life is a Happy Song) & the GetUp Kids (I'll Catch You).   This is a very atypical thing to do in a German wedding, but then again, Jan & Julia are much beyond typical.
After the wedding, we toasted some Sekt (Champagne) as we awaited our ride to the Reception.  As most everyone in the wedding party was from out of town, Jan & Julia reserved a Tour Bus for the group & we had a wonderful hour-long tour of the historic city.

The reception was at a bar called the Saloppe.  It is an outdoor bar with a gypsy/travel circus theme.  A site absolutely perfect for their group of friends, the Kölner Bunch, who grew up together camping, travelling, & partying together.  Dinner was provided by a Ukrainian Restaurant owned by a friend of Jan & Julia's.  The theme was simple: different, interesting, & fun. The food, people, & setting all fit the 'stimmung' perfectlz.  We danced, played foosball & Ping Pong, and mingled, while the kids swam & bounced in blow-up toys.  The night highlighted with a fireworks show put on by Jan's mother.  We taxied home around 4am.

SATURDAY
Unlike American wedding receptions,  Jan & Julia's friends woke up Sunday morning and made their way back to the Saloppe to clean up. There is a saying, "Viele Hände macht schnell zum Ende" (Many hands finish quickly) and we had the entire Saloppe cleaned up and ready for business within an hour.  In the heatwave that Dresden is currently battling, having to work for a few hours in the sun would've been crippling, but with 20+ people helping, easy was the work.  For a final get-together, we all went on an hour hike into the Dresdener Heide, a large forest across the street from the Saloppe.  An easy walk through the woods with friends & family that ended in the Weisse Hirsch, where there is an old Concert Hall and Beer Garden.  There we hung out & chatted with one-another as people slowly started making their way home.

Everything considered, this was a perfect wedding.  Pun not intended, but the one minus, the heat, provided a fantastic ice-breaker and created much conversation.

25 July 2013

Traveling with OSA

I can't sleep on international flights. Travelling with OSA (Obstructive Sleep Apnea) is brutal. 

For your comfort,  airlines decrease the air pressure inside the cabin. This can, quite literally, kill someone with OSA.

You see,  some of your friends who snore, snore in the extreme.  Their asophogas cannot hold up the weight of their neck when unconscious and collapses under the stress. They suffocate themselves until their body goes into survival mode, sending a shot of adrenaline through their system to wake up. ...They fall back asleep and...repeat.

When I was diagnosed with OSA my senior year of college, I averaged over 90 Apneas per hour.  An apnea doesn't even register until you stop breathing for 10 seconds or more. Some of my apneas lasted around 90 seconds.

Try it out for yourself: hold your breath for ten seconds.  How do you feel?  That is the minimum. Now,  try 90 seconds. Then,  with varying lengths, repeat this over the next hour.  You have 88 to go.

Imagine doing that for 5-6 more hours, every night.

Surgical solutions are not as effective as one might hope,  but a simple answer is to increase the air pressure inside your throat. It counteracts the weight & voila! A restful night's sleep.

But wait, strap a tube to your nose and force air down your throat. ...oh, and then fall asleep.  It sounds brutal,  but in all reality,  one you've established the routine,  it is life-changing.

Now, back to the airlines lowering air pressure in the cabin. Lowered air pressure means a dramatic increase in apneas. So, no, I try not to sleep on planes. Not because i think I'm going to die, but because it becomes a struggle and leaves me worn out.

And,  really,  would you want to sit on a plane next to someone who is suffocating themselves for much of the flight? 

The silver lining in this is that, on long trips to Europe,  as long as I hydrate,  I sleep like a baby when i arrive and wake up fresh the next morning raring to go!

...just have to make it to 10pm the night I arrive.

OJ & Water please

We made it to Europe!  Our trip across the pond went very quickly and very smoothly, and we even got to meet members of the Canadian National Paralympic Soccer Team, who were on their way to Barcelona for a World Cup Qualifying event.

After a late start,  we flew through check-in & security in Seatac & enjoyed our last American meal at at the concourse. Gone was all the stress of packing,  planning,  childcare arranging,  saying goodbye to the kids,  getting checked in,  & through TSA. Our three-week date had begun.

It felt fantastic!

A hop,  a skip, & a jump,  and we were abroad. YVR is an outstanding airport decorated well with Northwest Native Art. But before we could take it all in,  it was time to board an Airbus A330 bound for Europe.

Lufthansa is a fantastic airline & I highly recommend them. Good food,  plenty of individualized entertainment choices,  decent leg room,  efficiently run, and (very important) a usb charger in your arm rest.

Jetlag is like a hangover, except ibuprofen and some greasy food won't fix it

Ten hours in plane is draining by any standard, and traveling forward 9 time zones will inevitably have a massive effect on your body and sleep.  My tip is this: hydrate & replenish. Whenever the stewardess walks by with drinks, ask for 1 water and 1 OJ.

So, three movies  (the croods, something & the hobbit), some journaling, & several games of GalaxyTab FIFA later, we landed, on-time, in München.

Our connecting flight to Dresden began boarding about 20min after we landed,  but border control went quite quickly. We had no problem meeting our flight.

Just an hour later we were picked up at the Dresden Flughafen by our great friends Julia & Jan. Soon enough,  we walking through the famous Dresden Neustadt to their flat. It was only early afternoon,  so we ate & talked, & caught up, trying desperately to stay awake until 10pm.

The final step in getting acclimated to the European time zone,  is ignoring what time it is back home and fully committing to your new time. Pay off you will want to know what time it "would be if..." but Jetlag is as mental as it is physical.  Find something to distract you until a proper bedtime approaches. ...if you aren't meeting up with friends,  I suggest grocery shopping and dinner out.

I don't sleep on planes, but Niki does & I'm not sure either of us is better in dealing with jetlag, so I'm not certain it helps. Our jetlag this trip lasted two days, but it is not horrible, because we aren't also fighting dehydration. Were just a bit sleepy.

22 July 2013

The Most Difficult Decision

By far, the hardest choice for this trip was whether or not to bring our children.  We have two kiddos, Keegan (7) & Averi (3), and each would benefit from the trip.  Keegan has been to Europe twice now, but Averi has yet to leave the country and every experience abroad is useful & enlightening. I know our friends in Europe would love to see the kids.

However, for both financial & mobility reasons, we decided to leave the kiddos at home this time. We need to be mobile as I will attempt to secure summer work in Austria (so we may return with the kids & not break the bank). Financially, I'm not sure two teachers can afford a trip like this as often as we'd like if we have four people on board. We know that both Keegan & Averi will be having an amazing time with friends & family while we tromp around Central Europe without them.

Daycare logistics for a three-week trip is rather complicated.  However, we have some unbelievable family & friends without whom, quite frankly, none of this would be possible.

Keegan will roll with this like a champ; he knows we are returning & likely bringing him some gifts.  So, he'll play with cousins & neighbors then milk his grandparents for all the love they have to offer.

Averi's emotional stability over the next three weeks will be an entirely different animal.  We suspect that this might be a very difficult time for her. While we're gone, Keegan's "job" is remind Averi that we are coming home.  Though Skype & the miracle that is the internet are godsends for staying in touch, unless an end is in sight, such brief contact will only make her sad & remind her that she misses us.

So, Niki & I have decided to go a step further.  Niki gave me the task of writing a children's book that chronicals our trip through the eyes of a Czech frog named Molly.  We conveniently meet in Dresden when Molly escapes from the zoo. There is an important, Goldilocks-style plot in which Molly is looking for a home...with, of course, a sweet little girl to call her own.  Along our trip, we introduce Molly to girls that are too young & too old only to realize, in the eleventh hour, that Averi is the perfect match.

In addition, we will bring a toy frog along with us & include this "Molly" in several of our trip pictures.  Keegan will read Averi the book at night (or whenever she asks) & she will be able to connect with our trip in a way a 3-year old could otherwise not do.

So, when you see the frog in our travel photographs...you now know why.






Last Second Shoe Change

I'm not usually a big fan of last second changes, but I saw these Tiempos and couldn't resist. #ready2go

The Plan

*subject to change. :)


& a map for you visual folks...