Where my Ghouls at?

I LOVE Halloween. As in LOVE!!!


Far and away my favorite holiday, I love the silly, spooky character of the season. Not yet into the mushiness of family time and fresh in the "holiday season", Halloween is all sorts of awesome.

I have fond memories of past outfits and tasty treats. What- You'd like to see some costumes & treats? No problem!

1st couple costume: Princess Peach & Mario

Pirates. Arrrr!!!!!!!!

Ledehosen & dirndl double for Hänsel und Gretel

For work Halloween I wore the Lederhosen. A bit large

Halloween just after our wedding = 1950s housewife & husband, complete with black eye, pipe, and bottle of xanax

Young Homer

Marge Simpson

 I also love working on creepy treats. My most successful was Devil Eyes -  a spin off of deviled eggs. Tasty & delightful!

Unfortunately, freinds can be hard to convince to dress in costume as we grow older. They are also not as easily amused by scary movies, pumpkin carving, and caramel apples. Berlin seems similarly nonplussed. Sure there are clubs listed as having Haloween parties, but they are missing the sheer goofiness of the holiday with girls dressed as sexy nurse, sexy cat, sexy Osama Bin Laden (yes, really).   
I am still trying to champion a serious Halloween extravaganza, but worse case it will be me, Ian, some fake spiderwebs, apple cider, jack-o-lanterns, and a scary movie. Actually, that sounds kinda great.

UPDATE: We were able to rally some folks & actually had a good little shindig. We've got pictures to prove it - just wait. And guests? Be afraid, be very afraid.

Halfway Around the World...

Snohomish is a small town in the State of Washington (NO! Not the capital). About an hour away from gorgeous Seattle, it is known for

antiques,

quaint Victorian housing from it's time as a lumber town,

and a charming 1st street that combines the above two.

This is my hometown. Where I went to High School, had countless soda pops, went to the movies and laughed too loudly with my friends, "hung out" amid the antique shops, and generally did what teenagers do. I'm sure we were very annoying. As much as I would say Seattle is home, this small town is where I am from.

And now my parents have taken the thee long plane rides back there.
From Berlin to Amsterdam
Amsterdam to Minnepolis
Minneapolis to Seattle,
then the drive home.

Man that is a long commute! I am certainly glad they love me enough to come to Europe for a second time. Somewhere they had no ambition of visiting themselves, I rudely foisted the "opportunity" to go to Europe off on them twice now. They bought scarves while they were here, participating in the mandatory European uniform. And while they had a great time visiting Poland, taking a trip through Budapest, Bratislava, & Vienna, and exploring more of Berlin (at least they nicely lied & said they did) they never would have taken the trip if it weren't for me.

You're welcome? 
I'm sorry?

Either way, it was amazing to spend some time with them. Like adult time, talking about important things and showing them around like two grown-up couples. Well, kinda. They're still my parents and I'll always be their little girl. I'll miss them like crazy, and feel guilty that being "so far away" is by choice.

Ian & I are feeling pressure to start acting like adults, make plans that extend further than that party this weekend (seriously - you want to come to a Halloween party this weekend? We just started planning it), and even have a trip home...maybe permanent or visiting. There are too many question marks right now, we need to replace some of those with some periods, or better yet, some exclamation points!

A big thank you needs to go to main man in this post. Apparently a dread of your in-laws transcends national borders. When he told the ladies at the Kita that his in-laws were visiting for a full 3 weeks he got a resounding cringe. Amazingly, he didn't mind. Ian's a real champ about taking my parents in stride, even enjoying their company. I can certainly butt heads with them, but he is the eternal peace-keeper, tour guide extraordinaire, built-in entertainment, metro guru, and all around fabulous 4th wheel. I think my small family functions 10 times better with him in it. It's here in writing -

Ian is Amazing!

I really have no idea how I got so lucky to have the most fabulous, giving, adventurous, funny, smart parents in the world AND Ian. The day we flew to Budapest was our 2nd wedding anniversary & he surprised me with some of my favorite things -

flower pots painted like our wedding/blog colors, owl earrings, wall stick to hang my maps, sour gummies, and local honey. I stupidly thought we weren't "doing" gifts this year. I owe him. Big time.

Anyways, the parents flew on Tuesday and I didn't take pictures of them leaving this time. There were tears...and smiles. Much like when we left for Europe last November. As I already said, I'm going to miss them like crazy.

IKEA I spy

As a sublettor in Berlin, you expect everything in your apartment to be from IKEA, but you don't know for sure until you go to the source. Oh, look!

There is our motar & pestle (who needs one of these anyways?)

Wood shelf

Computer table...

Desk, closet, dining table & chairs, etc!

And it wouldn't be a trip to IKEA if Ian didn't peer pressure me to steal fried onions at the end of our visit. If the 1 euro dog & soda wasn't enough, this has become our shady tradition.

How To:

• Get an extra soda cup (easy to do in your man orders multiple dogs like Ian)
• Wait for an opening - this is the tricky part as the food court is populated at all times
• Nonchalantly head over there, perhaps with hotdog and cup to disguise your actions
• Furtively fill cup with delectable fried onions and cover with napkin to take home. Yes - they are going to spill.

In my perpetual we-are-on-the-brink-of-poverty state of mind, I was the first to do it and now Ian insists. No matter you can purchase them for a cool euro in Netto, this has become part of our big trip to IKEA.

I hang my head in shame, and to spare you from my delicious fried onion breath.

Leaving on a Jet Plane...

Paired with last night's karaoke escapades and tomorrow's flight, I got a little John Denver on the mind:



We are taking the parents to their 4th-6th European country. Flying to Budapest & spending a few days there, then a day in Bratislava, then Vienna. Some new, some old for us, but I am sure it will all be fabulous. Especially since having them here has been so fun-filled in boring 'ole Berlin.

Botanical Gardens

Turkish market & dried fruits

Cart Racing

Ian's kids

Potsdam

Sanssouci

Beers. Prost!

Truffels & chocolates oh my!

History - Topography of Terror

Random UBahn performance from Canada's Trike

Brandenburger Tor

Festival of Lights

Friends

Time with the fam.

 I borrowed my mum's pics here, but will have to upload mine soon. And I will provide more city ratings, rants, and random stories. But for now,

Kedves egeszsegere!

 (according to Google, Hungarian for Prost)

Placing Poland

 The parents are here and on day 5 of European travel. We have big plans for a trip to Hungary, Bratislava, & Vienna next week but since we are so close to Poland, why not a day trip? We didn't just want to hop the border for some nowhere, so we set our sights on Szczecin (auf deutsch Stettin). It reportedly had a Duke's castle, a tourist map with red line guided tour, and was only about 2 hours away. Plus - the train ticket was a Brandenburger ticket, meaning it would only cost 28 euro for all 4 of us to travel there & back. Bonus!

It didn't turn out exactly as we hoped, but was still an experience. Once again, we have decided to rate the cities we are visiting with our parental units. This town might not have stacked up so well, but there is more to come. 


Introducing our Raters:

cheryl "kept her last name" mendenhall - fan of no cap writing, genealogy, and an avid volunteer in youth organization Snohomish 4-H horse Program. Also, my mum. 


Dave "the goldminer" Ball - Yes, this man is a real life goldminer (he's gotta strike it rich one of these days amirite? At least he hopes so). He is also a Boeing machinist, fixer of anything, and political letter writer (if not sender).


If you don't know us (Ian & ebe / PorterBalls), here's a little how we came to be, and to be in Berlin.

 Szczecin Ratings:

Ratings will be done in potatoes. These are the opinions of our fine raters in not an iota of any official capacity. 

Transportation 

cheryl

Standing passengers

.5 Potatoes - It was a miserable trip there except for the landscapes.


Dave


2 Potatoes - Packed like sardines on the train ride there. They could have used some Japanese pushers.

Ian 
3.5 Potatoes - Very convenient to get there from Berlin. Unfortunately - everyone else had the same idea. 

Ian takes a seat

ebe
2.5 Potatoes - We took a Brandenburger ticket there which allows for 5 people to ride for a day within the state (including Berlin & some places in Poland) for 28 euros. Total steal! Unfortunately, we did not estimate that the train would only be 2 cars, already completely full from picking up at the Zoo & Hauptbahnhof station. A lot of standing for 2 hours, though everyone was unexpectedly kind and making the best of the situation.


Within the city there were trams, buses, and a red line that took you by the cities attractions. It was pretty walkable with just a few hills. And the train ride back was much much better with a double- decker. But that morning...

Accommodations

N/A for our daytrip

Sights

Bizarre signs. Sexual assault along with your teeth cleaning!

Stocks at Palace

 

Baltic Sea from cannon

cheryl
4 Potatoes - Beautiful historical sights that need repair.


Dave

Red Line Tour

2.5 Potatoes - Mixture of authentic surrounded by strip malls & poor apartment buildings. (He noted very bad patchwork on original buildings which irritated the carpenter in him).

Ian 
2.5 Potatoes - Some really cool things, but really decentralized. 

ebe
3.5 Potatoes - The red line was a great tool to easily see what the city had to offer. As a relatively poor place with basic architecture, it was not as exciting as hoped. A lack of central town square or any kind of centralized attractions was difficult. I did love the red brick work.

Pottery Store - CLOSED

 

Dining 

cheryl

perogi

4.5 Potatoes - Charming restaurant. Comfort food.


Dave
3.5 Potatoes - Cozy little restaurant. Delicious food.

Ian 
3.5 Potatoes - Not a lot of options, but when we did find a place it was delicious. Best perogis ever. 

ebe

borscht

4.5 Potatoes - Had to wander a bit to find a place, and it looked inauspicious, but was really delicious. We got borscht, perogies, and savory pancakes with chicken, spinach, and garlic sauce. Seriously delicious, hearty and cheap! Big up.

 Overall

cheryl
3 Potatoes- It has promise of a good future. We had a lovely lunch, but the buildings have fallen into disrepair. They need to get their act together for people to come visit.


Dave
3 Potatoes - Fun being in a different country. Rainy weather detracted form sightseeing a little bit.

Ian 
2 Potatoes- For such a large city, not a lot going on for a Saturday afternoon.l We expected more shops to be open. A nice place, but behind it's time. 

ebe
2.5 Potatoes - A nice place, but I don't know if it is really an exciting visit. We wanted to get the parents to Poland and it did that. We got a glimpse of the Baltic and saw some Poles. But shops & restaurants simply weren't open. The bunker tour would've been fun, but closed at 2pm. We wanted to get bowls, but couldn't find an open shop. Nice, but not needing a return visit.

Back to Berlin!

Today we are back to visiting even-more-glorious-than-usual Berlin. A brunch, a market, and some horse racing. It is shaping up to be a perfect Sunday.

 UPDATE: Stettin didn't exactly do us right, probably for a combination of factors. But the city is not a total loss for those looking for a daytrip from Berlin. The extremely talented Cheryl Howard took a similar journey to us to the Polish city and had completely different results. Check out her photography & recommendations here &  here & here.

The Parents are Coming, The Parents are Coming!

It has been a lonnnnnnnggggg 11 months of Skype video chats, e-mails, and occasional phone calls. But today, my parents are an 1 1/2 away from taking the last leg in their long trip from Seattle to Berlin. I am picking up some flowers, then picking them up at the airport. I simply can't wait. I don't know that I have ever been this excited to see them. Ever.

Mum/Father of the Bride

 The parent's visit in Spring 2008:

Hertha game where Dave Ball impressed us by ordering a mass

Wandering around Alex

Family photo at Brandenburger Tor

Our road trip through Southern Germany and through the Rhine...

Burg Eltz

 

Zell, Germany

Countless vineyards

Heidelberg, Germany

Nuremberg, Germany

And my latest favorite of them in my beautiful home state of Washington:

We are going to do more fun things in Berlin, skip over to Poland, and take a trip through Hungary, Slovakia, & Austria. But best of all, we are getting a little time to spend together. 

Oh - and they are proving word title holders for best parents ever in bringing over our cat Bella! Me-ow. 

Love you mum & daddio!

(To get an idea of the teariness of the hello, check out the good-bye: Leaving for Berlin)