In typical PorterBall fashion, we packed a lot into my parent's last trip. After trying out Swiss life, we swung through the Alsace-Lorraine region of France on our way back to Berlin. I wanted to give the P's a taste of French life - even if it was German flavored.
The Alsace-Lorraine region (or Reichsland Elsaß-Lothringen if you're feeling especially Germ-y) has been tossed back and forth between Germany and France several times. Though it currently is in France (and has been since 1922), this mishmash of cultures has resulted in some of the best of both sides.
Must Eat: Flàmmeküeche - basically a very thin crust pizza, typically with lardons (bacon), white onions and a cream-based sauce.
Must drink:Wine, of course! But Germany's influence means you won't get sniffed at for ordering a beer. Sadly, I could have neither. Another apfelshorle s'il vous plaît.
Must see: Serious cuteness. Hubsch. Mignon. No matter how you pronounce it, this region is filled with towns straight outta a Disney set.
I love camping, but I've never been in Germany. This is partly because we moved to Berlin with 2 suitcases and have literally no equipment. It is partly because our travels outside of the city are in their infancy and I still have relatively no idea of the campgrounds in these here parts. And it is partly because of the Germans.
The one time we tried to go camping was in the Spreewald, just south of Berlin in Lübbenau. It went like this.
Ian: "Are there any camping spots available this weekend?"
Campsite: (laugh) "No."
Ian: "Are there any camping spots available in the coming weeks?"
Campsite: "No, there are no spots for the rest of the year!"
We never reveled in the "America - fuck yeah!" attitude of some of our gun-wielding, flag waving, big truck driving brethren in the States. But something about being away and becoming an expat has us energetically pointing out everything that screams America to us when we are back in the ole' US of A.
On this trip, it was signs. After our friend Ian's thoughtful post on being a Fontophile,
I've been paying more attention to the road posts, businesses, and
signs that point the way. America, particularly Ian's area of Eastern Washington, is truly rich in signage.
Growing up in Washington State, trips to Leavenworth are practically mandated. Christmas, summer, or for one of the largest Oktoberfests in America (not quite like the real Oktoberfest). It's cute. It's kitsch. It's a tourist attraction.
Even though Ian & I are native Washingtonians, we have never been tempted to actually visit Spokane (pronounced Spo-Can or SpoCompton for those in the know). It is 92 miles (148 km) south of the Canadian border, 20 miles (32 km) east of the Washington–Idaho border, 196 (315km) miles east of Yakima, and 232 miles (373 km) east of Seattle. Located past a long and desolate stretch of road, whether you are coming from western or central Washington, Spokane is simply out there for most of us.
However- as the second largest city in Washington, it is home to a lot of Washingtonians. For the over 200,000 people that live here, the city is home to attractions like "Spokan Falls", a growing microbrewery scene, and the prestigious college, Gonzaga University.
I've talked so much about our adventures outside of the city lately (like new favorite Naples), I haven't been giving Berlin it's due.
One of the reasons it's one of the greatest cities in the world is transportation. Much of our problems with life in Seattle revolved around the mundane issues of how to get around. The city is surrounded by water as it is sandwiched between the Puget Sound and Lake Washington (among other bodies of water). Everyone has to funnel through certain areas, navigating the crisscrossing bridges. Gorgeous, but also capable of creating volcanic fury-inducing traffic jams.
And it's not like there is great - or even decent - public transit to rely on. A light rail system is being implemented, and we do have the laughable monorail from the world's fair, but buses are the main mode of public transport. They come in about 20 minute windows (if you're lucky), and are often crowded with the unwashed, the mentally ill, and the clinically dangerous (just check out The Stranger's frequent articles). We laugh (cuz if we didn't we'd cry) about our fancy neighborhood of Queen Anne having a higher crime than our "ghetto" kiez in Wedding.
It's funny, I have already spent 10 years driving practically everyday. This is common as an American. It is not common in Berlin.
I loved driving when I started at 16, taking my Bronco II - named Charlie - too fast around turns. Some of my best teenage memories are just driving with Charlie. It was my first love affair. But eventually, Charlie had to be put down and driving just got old. I relied on Ian for driving once we lived together, but still had to commute to work, waiting for the Ballard bridge to come down and Seattle traffic to unjam. I was pleased to switch to U-Bahn, S-Bahn, tram, bus, bike, and leg in Berlin. I hardly miss the car.
BUT (of course there's a but) we have some amazing friends with a car. The best of both worlds! They suggested a camping trip in the Spreewald. Camping is one thing I do miss like mad and so we eagerly utilized Ian's German skills to call & see if any sites were available.
Once again, we have decided to rate the cities we are visiting with the parental units. The first leg of our mini- central European tour, we start with breath-taking Budapest.
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.
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.
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)
After the Belgium beer run, we thought it was time to venture back into France. The country of wine, the huh huh huh laugh, and elite cuisine is one we have only briefly skimmed. Marseille, Perpignan, Bordeaux, Paris...most of our whirlwind through the country was spent chasing a friend.
Despite this inauspicious start - we loved France. We were prepared for the worst, but the people and place gave us their best. Some of my favorite pictures and most bizarre stories (there was either a murder or suicide in the hotel room across the hall) have happened here.
So we were excited to make it back to the country. However, it was
just going to be a baby toe in as we had to start making our way back to
Berlin. Los!
We
chose Colmar. A mini-Strasbourg, it is a town to fawn over the adorable
finishes and the combination of German & French.
Once again, I am off planning other trips instead of finishing the one I just got back from. Let's pick up from our impromptu road trip on our Belgium Beer Run.
Truly- this no-planning vacation exceeded our expectations and proved that throwing a little money at travel really does make things easier. Who knew!? Oh...everyone? Ok, well we didn't.
We will post in-depth soon with plenty of pics & video, but as for now we have had several stressful days of driving (actually only Ian, I was a happy passenger), lots of drinking (don't worry mum- not at the same time), and we have a Wii and bunny to attend to.
BUT if you are really curious, here are ten pics at random of our (tiny) European roadtrip.
ok- not really from the trip. But Herr Schmidt is one cute bun amiright?
No sooner had we got in the car then we took a wrong turn. Luckily, we got a unique view of the Siegessaule
Literally 5 min too late to make this brewery tour. Gr#$^^%&^! Luckily, we were able to drink some of their beer a stone's throw away and bought some beer & a glass in the shop after the tour
After finding out that Belgium's southern "cities" are literally little more than villages, we finally settled on a very pleasant hotel just outside of Chimay and drank some of it's beer to celebrate.
Colmar, France. Just south of Strousberg, this city has shared French & Germany history and is phenominal
Preparing to return to Berlin, we took one last hurrah before trading the car for the UBahn. A road trip from Seattle to Southern California took us to see a friend in Vancouver, WA, my aunt, uncle & a potato gun in Northern California, LA TV madness, and family and a Zoo in San Diego.
PorterBalls Road trip starts NOW
Northern California
We stayed with my Aunt & Uncle outside of Yreka on the weekend, visiting the Etna brewery, old wild West grave sites, and some other spooky sites. My Uncle Dave also treated us to the potato cannon. Yes, that's right, CANNON. We each got to shoot it. Cannon make big BOOM!
PLUS Dave is a master pizza tosser. Yes, Aunt Sue is a lucky women & Ian is already working on his pizza skills.
Los Angeles
We left them on Sunday to make our way to LA. We marked the momentous occasion of our 1st wedding anniversary with a meal at In-N-Out. It was only appropriate for us.
Chelsea Lately
Stopping in Los Banos for the night, we were in LA by 1:30pm and barely made the taping we planned to go to of Chelsea Lately. The line consisted of douchebaggery like no other - we were really in LA. Overheard cell phone talk consisted of chatter about cleanses, agents and designer brands. UGH.
We had to white knuckle it as they moved some people to the back of the line and we were literally the last two guests allowed in. Whew! But finally we were in watching the filthy sausage of TV being made. Laughing on cue was bizarre, but we didn't have to fake it for long. Ross (the intern), Lonnie Love... comedy pros at work. So cool to be behind the scenes and see some seriously funny people. We also saw Johnny Knoxville do this:
We stayed the night with one of Ian's SAE who had made the transition to law school in LA and had truly transformed from the last time we saw him in Berlin. Underneath the LA-ness -he was still a supremely nice guy. And his location in Hollywood, right next to Michael Jackson's star on the walk of fame was pretty great.
Plus- we got to have a bite at Pink's, a family owned hot dog stand that has been in operation since the 1930's.
Price is Right
We had to get up way too early to make the next taping we wanted to see - the Price is Right! We did not make it. Just barely missed the cut off for the first show and decided to get some breakfast and try again.
At 12:15 we were back on the CBS lot, filled out paperwork, got our name tags and were waiting, waiting, waiting... wondering if we were even go to make it this time (even though they promised we would get on) as Dr. Phil's entire audience was suddenly given spots (as if I didn't dislike that dude enough).
Suddenly - we were definitely getting in and it was time to hustle for the quick producer screening before we headed
in. We had neon t-shirts from our wedding and were prepared to be
enthusiastic nutcases. I thought we had a chance as we seemed to catch their eyes in the mini-interviews and Ian got a laugh, but there was no telling what was going to happen. Standing in line for so long, there starts to be a certain sense of camaraderie and all of our new friends & us were just happy to be going inside.
...and then we were on set! Bright, chaotic and cheesy- it was hard to figure out where to look. Drew Carrey was pulling off the Bob Barker hosting spot and we were laughing, cheering, yelling with abandon. Sadly located on the very far sid we never did see ourselves on TV and were not selected to spin the big wheel or even guess the price of a necklace - but who cares! We were there and it was kinds of zany madness. Unlike Chelsea - there was nothing forced here.
The person who won the entire show? She bet $4 on her first bid. A bright bulb that one. They must have been scared we would be too good and take all that cash money. Yeah, that's it. Show aired December 8th and of course we watched it - scanning the crowd for our faces in vain. Whatever - we actually had an amazing time.
No cameras are allowed at tapings (thus we have no pics). Make sure if you go to look at the details and conditions as there are many things that can get you booted.
I am typing this from Anaheim as we drove down this evening (after one last LA legendary meal at Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles). Shortly after checking in, there was the sound of explosions and I thought California was finally breaking off the mainland. Ian's days as a Disney addict prepared him better & he dragged me outside to watch the most amazing fireworks I have ever seen! Seriously- these were incredible. They appeared 3D expanding toward us and supersonic sound waves blasted my ear drums- in a good way.
We went to downtown Disney even though it was late and wandered around the magic, frolicking in the corporate charm. I hadn't realized till very recently Disneyland would be dressed for Halloween and it was looking PG spooky. Cannot wait to get in those gates tomorrow.
We give it a California.....
C!
A!
...ok - you get the idea.
UPDATE:
Disneyland in all of it's Halloween finest. Amusement parks are the closest thing for me to feel like a kid again.
After years lying dormant, my wanderlust for theme parks was re-ignited by Disneyland. In the next 3 years, we visited 3 more parks.
The high cost of transportation etc in Iceland has forced us to decide on renting a car. So excited!
6:45am Arrive in Iceland
AUTO!- pick up our tiny car
Blue Lagoon Hotel
Tourista & grocery shop in Reykjavik
...and then LAGOON BABY!
Before that trip however, we have some US road trippin' to do. California looms ahead as we plan for Disneyland, family, and some road rage- er, I mean fun.
