Skip to main content

Family Time: Easter Dinner and Tegernsee

Image
By
We visited Germany over Easter, which meant a lot of candy coupled with large family gatherings with tons of champagne and incredible food.  One day we went to a gathering with one of Martina's uncles, where we met a lot of her cousins.  They were lovely people, very festive.  We enjoyed talking with them about the state of the world, what might happen in the next American election, taking a long walk in the snowy weather, and toasting a ridiculous amount of champagne to all the family milestones (a baby on the way and a marriage next year).  Martina's uncle is also an antique camera collector so we got to see his fairly substantial collection.  I even impressed him by being able to open one of the oldest models that he couldn't figure out.  To the right is a picture of Martina and her siblings, Maxi and Suzi, who we got to spend some nice time with.

On Easter Sunday proper, we went to Martina's family home for a celebration with her mother and siblings.  Her mom taught us how to make traditional goulash, the end result of which is pictured to the right.  It's very much like a stroganoff but with more of a tomato base.  We made it with some brown rice pasta I brought, and everyone enjoyed trying the new taste.  After lunch, we had an egg hunt, which really was "find the massive plates of candy with your name on it."  Once we found the bounty, we reenacted the last supper, shown below.  It's not terribly authentic, but it was great fun, and I personally enjoy Maxi and Matt looking off in the opposite directions while Martina's mom breaks the chocolate bunny.
      


The next day we went to Tegernsee, a beautiful mountain town, and hiked up a snowy alp.  We were not prepared for the conditions, and did suffer a bit because of our shoes, especially on the way down, but it was beautiful.  We made it all the way up to a little church on top of a very high peak, and looked out across a gorgeous expanse below.  Back in the village later, we marveled at the architecture and went to a famous monastery brewery called Herzoglich Bayerisches Brauhaus, where I drank apfelchorle, a delicious sparkling apple juice, and everyone else drank beer.  It took the sting of the mountain away.   

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

To Live in the Moment Without Fear

By
To Live in the Moment Without Fear  is a work by Yuko Shinoda from Gifu, Japan.  Danced by six women, the dance investigates what it means to be a part of a community threatened by a disaster that takes a life.  Premiered June 5th 2011 in Nagoya, Japan, the dance features a strong movement aesthetic that draws from traditional Japanese dance as well as contemporary styles and contact improvisation.  Shinoda's use of space and timing, as her dancers flow in-and-out of solos, duets, trios, and unison, creates a sense that the dancers are unified and alone at the same time.  In the end, Shinoda's view of life is clear: we must tend to the fallen, but we must never surrender ourselves to fear while we are still alive.
3 comments
Read more

Yokohama, Day Four: Roppongi Hills and Shibuya

By
We met Nik's girlfriend, Megumi, for an amazing lunch on the way to Roppongi Hills, where we met up with her friend Misa. Roppongi Hills is an incredibly upscale shopping district in Tokyo, even more upscale than the Ginza. I couldn't afford to look at the stores. We passed by a German-influenced illumination display, honoring 150 years of German-Japanese friendship. It was really beautiful and seemed traditional (I'm going to run it by my German friend to test its authenticity).  In the first two pictures you can see Japanese people chowing down on dark lager and brats, as well as a lovely carved statue with figurines and candles that constantly turned on a podium. Misa was hungry so we got her a lunch snack, and when Matt saw a bagel place he succumbed to his Jewishness. Pictured is his bagel with cream cheese and lox, which he ate in the face of Christmas with Nik. Roppongi Hills also has many beautiful sculptures, including a giant spider of which I didn'...
Post a Comment
Read more

Japan's Ice Is Cooler Than Your Ice

By
Nagamori chuugakkou (middle school) is a friendly, clean, and very large place where I now spend my weekdays. I am mid-way through my first week as an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT), and things are going very well despite my distinct lack of Japanese language skills. I teach full-time at Nagamori, which is different from most of my ALTIA colleagues who teach at two schools (Matt included). I enjoy staying at one school because it is much easier for me to handle the language barrier: I am able to see the same kids and teachers every day, and I am continuously improving my communication skills. Mostly the kids are great. They are, as a whole, interested and engaged. I have been doing a lot of jiko shoukai , which means "self-introduction." Third day in and the kids have got a pretty good handle on me even though I haven't officially been in their class yet. I no longer can ask them if I am from Australia, for example, because they all know I am from America....
2 comments
Read more