Summer Bobsled!

Today we went with some friends to the small town of Pottenstein in a mountainous area called the Fränkische Schweiz, or Franconian Switzerland, about an hour north of where we live.  As you can see, it is a beautiful place.

One of the best things about Pottenstein is the sommerrodelbahn.  It is sort of like bobsledding in the summer time!  There are two tracks you can take to the bottom.  One is a cart on wheels inside a bobsled-like track.  The other is more like a roller coaster car which runs on rails.  The top speed is about 40 km/hour, and it is so much fun.  Here we are waiting in line.

Check out some of our footage from the bobsled-like track.

 Perhaps this can be one more way for us to entice you to come visit us!

Welt Meisterschaft

    Being in Germany for the World Cup (or as they call it, Welt Meisterschaft) is a pretty cool experience.  Last Sunday Germany played England in a heated match.  There is a strong sense of competition (read no love lost) between the Germans and the Brits when it comes to football, so we went downtown to take it all in.  This is what we found as we trekked back to John's office after the game.  As you may know Germany won.  Super Deutschland!

This first video was taken just a few minutes after the game concluded.

Cars were able to pass along the street with no problem in the beginning.

You can see how full the streets became after only a few minutes.  This picture also shows one of the useful things they do differently in Deutschland: the digital sign with the changing numbers tells you how many available spots are left in each of the three neighboring parking garages.  Awesome, right? 

Soon enough this was the center of a huge celebration.

 

German good ole boys?

 

In case you forgot the score....

Even the Polizei had their face painted...and didn't seem concerned about hundreds of people blocking the main road through town.

So much fun...

 

Be sure to grab your vuvuzela and tune in at 2:30 (EST) on Wednesday 07 July to cheer for Deutschland as they take on Spain.

Super Deutschland!  Super Deutschland!

Before and During

     Usually when you lose weight you display before and after shots.  Well, I am doing things a little differently.  Since moving to Germany in August 2009 I have lost just over fifty pounds.  I have been waiting months to celebrate this milestone.  The last ten pounds have been very difficult to lose.  I had intended to share many more "during" pictures today but our camera battery died last night.  I have one picture that I think shows my progress the best, but I have wet hair.  Eek! 

June 6, 2009

May 15, 2010

     As it turns out moving to another country and being forced to walk and bike really works as a weight loss plan.  That is really only part of the story though. The first twenty pounds came off relatively easily as we moved here in the summer without a car and were taking public transportation to and from language school in Munich.  The last thirty pounds have taken a bit more work.  Back in January I started emailing my weekly weight to four very good friends.  This accountability is crucial to my success.  

     At some points I even emailed the girls every day to tell them what I ate.  This allowed me to keep my calories in check.  This was a necessary step as I was not at all used to eating in a healthy manner.  I knew I didn't want to have to tell my friends if I ate junk, so I wouldn't eat it.  The way that we eat has changed drastically.  I now plan every lunch and dinner down to the last calorie.  At the beginning of the week I plan seven dinners that can be divided into four portions.  We eat two for dinner and two for lunch the next day.   

     The catch is that sometimes I have cravings.  I actually indulge in those cravings in  moderation.  Maybe that means that I have a bite of this or that, account for it in my calorie counter and move on.  I do not do well knowing that I can only eat certain foods or that I have to avoid this or that.  I have really had to learn portion control.  It is a difficult thing to learn, and I certainly haven't mastered it.

 July 11, 2009

 

 May 1, 2010 

(It was so cold and rainy that day.)

         In January I reached that proverbial low point where I was ready to change.  It was time.  I know that I have so much further to go, but I know that it is possible.  Most likely it will not happen quickly, but that is okay.  I want to be healthy for so many reasons.  I appreciate all of you for the amazing ways that you have encouraged me and celebrated with me.   Today I have earned myself a pedicure.  It has been ten months since my last one.  I am so excited and so are my toes.  I am thinking now about a reward for my next big goal of eighty pounds gone!!!!!!  I am not sure but I think Paris will be a part of the plan. 

God Did That For Me

The only place I remember my Grandmother, Honey, saying she wanted to travel to was Holland.  I offered to take her, but she always refused. She would talk about the tulips, windmills and wooden shoes.  Imagine my excitement when John told me there were samples to be collected on the Dutch coast.   I looked forward to this particular research trip with much excitement and a great deal of nostalgia.  I miss my grandmother, Irene, terribly.  And so I knew on our first day in Holland that God did this for me........

 

I was admiring all of the beautiful boats along the canal on the way to our first collection point when I saw a boat named "Irene."  When John turned the car around to get a picture we both noticed that in the background there was a beautiful field of tulips, an old windmill and even a more modern windmill.  Thank you, God.  That was beautiful.

These are some pictures from our boat tour in Amsterdam.  A lot of our pictures are of the masses of people who had gathered to celebrate the Queen's birthday.  Although, I have a sneaking suspicion that the Queen would have no part of many of the day's festivities. 

On our last day we decided to drive to Keuckenhof Gardens to see if we could get some better pictures of tulips.  We found this cute little field on the side of the road in Lisse.  We couldn't properly capture the beauty of millions of tulips.  The colors are more brilliant than anything I have ever seen.  It is beautiful.  This year the season was from late March to mid May.  We're hoping to see some of you here next Spring for the tulips.

 

In Lisse, we saw a guy selling tulips and other flowers at a roadside stand.  We bought forty tulips for five euro.  That is about $6.35.  The tulips made it all the way back to Germany and bloomed a few days later into the biggest, most beautiful tulips.  The second picture shows about a fourth of the whole bunch.  We didn't have a container large enough to hold them all.

Praha

We were supposed to meet two of my college friends in Prague for the end of their European vacation.  Unfortunately, Eyjafjallajökull had other plans.  Maybe the girls will be able to reschedule in the fall.  Cheers to travel insurance!    We had already planned to go to Prague so we went to scope out some cool spots for future visitors. Prague is a really easy drive from Erlangen, about 2.5 hours.  

 
We managed to find an authentic Czech meal in a bar near our hotel. Our only regret is that we didn't have our camera to properly document the enormous plate of food we both received.  I have never seen such humongous ribs.  I could only eat two of the four they gave me.  John really enjoyed his pig knee.   The server said that if we are hungry the ribs were the thing to order.  I think he meant for both of us.  It was quite an experience.  Oh the things the Czech people can do with sundry parts of a pig, black beer and red wine. 

 

Prague's Astronomical Clock

The Charles Bridge

Various Views of the Prague Castle

Not Just Another Day at the Beach

Some of you have wondered aloud what our visit to Italy had to do with John's research.  We had a wonderful time playing tourists, but we also got a great deal of work accomplished.  We spent many hours going through Daniele's fossil samples and taking pictures. We also did some field work collecting recently living examples from the same species as the fossils.  I have to admit, I love this part of John's job.  It is by no mistake that I am married to a scientist who has to collect samples on a beach.  Here are some pictures from our last day in Italy on the beaches of the Adriatic Sea and Po River Delta.

Carnevale di Venezia

At the recommendation of our Italian host, Daniele, we trekked with many other Italians to Venice to celebrate the last day of Carnevale.  If you were traveling with us to these different cities you would regularly hear me (Laura) comment that I love the charming narrow streets.  Part of Venice's charm, I believe, comes from similarly narrow canals.  It is the beauty of Italian/European cities plus water. Perfecto.