no-plan plan Saturdays

In my book No-Plan Saturdays are the best. You know, the ones where you wake up, roll over and laser beam stare at your other until he opens his eyes and jumps a little at your creepy wide eyes, and you exclaim, "whattarewegonnadotoday?!'

Just me? Okay, whatever. 

Contrary to what you may believe, the Checchias are not always gone for the weekend. I'd say three out of four in a month are spent in Frankfurt, where Michael refuses to go anywhere that's farther (further?) than a 15 minute train journey. Fortunately, Frankfurt summers are full of festivals to entertain and parks to explore, if the rain would only let up. I used to hate the No-Plan Plan, because I like to know what's going on and suck the marrow out of each hour, but I've realized that sometimes the best days are had when you just let it decide for itself. 

A Saturday in the Life of American Expats Whose Friends or Wives are Unable to Play Because they're in Cool Places Like Italy and the United States of America:

I somehow convinced Mike to go to the giant flea market, even though he gets bored easily looking at the same junk that's always there. We went on the pretext of finding the booty lady, who knits the most amazing booties on the face of the planet, sitting on the curb and selling the 5 or 6 pairs she made that week. Unfortunately we could not locate her. Maybe she takes the summers off. 

The best Saturdays usually come from long bikes rides to nowhere. A couple weeks ago we found a cool riverside trinkhalle under a bridge with old men consuming beers and the trains rumbling overhead. This week, we took the long way home through Bockenheim, riding through our favorite park, and stumbled across an Asian-themed garden to soak our tootsies. 

Later, we made a plan to meet up with Cory at the Schweizer Platz fest, except right before arriving we got caught in a massive storm for 45 minutes under an awning. That was not planned. 

So naturally, Cory took the U-Bahn back one stop and met us with beers while we waited for the rain to subside. Prost!

The sun reappeared! We made it to Schweizer Platz and immediately commenced our gluttonous ways.

Empanadas. Steak sandwiches. Pommes frites. Kartoffel puffers, perhaps (which are like a hashbrown cake with appelsauce, try it. Delish.) Beer, apfelwein. I could keep going. We couldn't stop eating. 

I'm pretty sure my heaven will include giant hams on a rotating pole. 

sorry, Cory, this picture is too good to pass. He had just said, "Usually Marley (his wife) is around to stop me when I've had enough. But she's in the states."

oh you know, just rocking my mullet and eating some ice cream.

 To top it all off we then rode our bikes 20 minutes to the best ice cream place (Eis Cristina) for spaghetti eis. Yes, it looks just like spaghetti. Awesome!

 I encourage you, where ever you are, to attempt a Saturday just as this. Hop on your bike (maybe after driving it to a good location, all yous in Florida) and just let it dictate your day. Then post pictures and tell me about it! :) 

for Amy

I never had the chance to blog about our adventures with Amy & Paul, and she won't let me live it down until it's on the good ol' interwebs. Thank you for the weekly reminders, Ames. I did want it here for when I print this blog into a book to keep forever.

Ever since we were preadolescent teeny boppers we've dreamed about the cul-de-sac that we'd live on, intertwining our lives with each other as our kids run around causing mayhem and growing up as 'siblings.' There's certainly still time for that, but for now, we're enjoying the joys of 'adulthood' that include growing up and traveling together, especially when it includes our spouses. Pretty soon, Kelly and Jesse will be joining the realm of holy matrimony-- just think of what shenanigans we'll get into on future travels!

So, back to our trip. 

It was lovely to go through these pictures again, pulling out my favorites and reminiscing on what an amazing trip it was. Amy's the best at taking tons of pictures and making sure that people are in them, which I totally am not; I'm thankful for her insistence even if at the time I was not :) 

She also did most of the planning, which was nice for a change not to be in charge! 

We started in Munich, still my favorite city in Germany and one that I'm happy to return to again and again. Well, before that, we borrowed our friends' dirndl and lederhosen to hit up the Frankfurt spring fest in style, and so they could see just how much more fun you can have when you're in costume. 

My husband is one good-looking' German, no?

Lederhosen gives you super powers

I'd never been to Munich in the spring; it wasn't full of tourists like usual, and we had the chance to see different things. If you're ever there, I recommend renting a bike and cruising the entire city. We saw a lot of the Englischer gardens that I hadn't seen before, and of course, stopped in our favorite Chinese biergarten. 

Favs from Munich:

This picture cracks me up every time... Paul being ridiculous in front of the Michael Jackson memorial while Amy looks on tearfully (except she wasn't really crying, she 'had something in her eye.') 

BMW museum is pretty cool (and free!) plus adjacent to the Olympic park.

We also checked out Schloss Nymphenburg, which was pretty and had lovely gardens to explore.

photobombed 

A trip to Munich is not complete without time spent at the Hofbrau. And Schneider-Weiss, in my humble opinion. 

Back to Frankfurt for a couple nights, with of course the obligatory Rhine excursion to drink as much wine as possible and hike the vineyards. We missed the cool castle in St. Goar by 5 minutes, but the wine tasting in Bacharach made up for it. 

Thursday (Thursday? I can't remember) we were off to Bruges, another one of our favorites! Boat tour, a little bit of walking, delicious beer and ribs. Done and done.

Fidel is the coolest dog ever. 

2be-- Our favorite spot to people-watch in Bruges with a giant Troubador Trippel. Amy and Paul went off to explore, and we sat for hours. My kind of holiday. 

Can you spot the monkey?

Mike and I got up early to check out Ghent, which is 20 minutes away from Bruges. If you're reading this and considering doing the same, we highly recommend doing so. It's a really cool small town with a different feel than Bruges. And less American tourists, which is a win for everyone. 

This might be my favorite picture of all time?

From Bruges we took the train to Amsterdam where they were celebrating King's Day! Holy cow, you need to make it a point to visit on this holiday at some point in your life. It was a massive daytime celebration, where everyone sells their items in the streets, children set up booths to try to make some money, such gooooooood street food, and the boats fill up every inch of the canals with people of all ages partying. We sat and watched for hours!

My favorite- picnics in the park! This guy snuggled with me (or he wanted my sandwich.)

 Sunday we went to Keukenhof Gardens with the most beautiful flowers EVER. Amy wanted to take a picture of everyone, Paul had fun doing 'flyovers' with his camera.

I was a bit cranky until I had ice cream. 

I forgot to mention that Amy's wonderful friend Mirela came from Florence to visit Amy. She was the nicest person ever, and I hope to see her again one day!

Mike was just as excited as I was to be taking so many pictures

And finally, Monday we squeezed in a Mike's Bike Tour, a company I highly recommend! Take the countryside tour. You see windmills and cheese factories and lots of green. 

 Seriously a joy to spend time with my bestie on an epic adventure. So many memories and funny stories-- can't wait for more travels together, especially with our third musketeer!

muskrats and swimming pools

What a lovely Friday in good ol' Frankfurt.

I woke up a discouraged, knowing that I had nothing to do and no one to play with. You see, this expat life is cyclical in terms of your friends. People come and go quite often, and it can be tough being the one 'left behind.' We joke that I've lost all my friends, and though certainly I haven't 'lost' them, they're no longer in the Hausfrau realm and can only play after work. Imagine that!

Out of the many things I've learned through this journey is the importance of simply choosing to be present in each day, one at a time. There's no use in worrying about the future, right? God promises that it'll take care of itself, and quite honestly, it always seems to do so.

Instead of feeling sorry for myself, I blogged a bit, left the phone at home, and took off on my bike with the pool in mind. Frankfurt has these excellent pools literally in the woods that you kind of just happen upon (at least in my case on a bike.) I was destined for Brentano, a pool larger than a football field that looks more like a lake, but took a wrong turn and stumbled upon Hausen, which was smaller and less crowded.

A little sunbathing and a good book does this Florida girl wonders!

It's nice to not have your phone as well, because I fear becoming too dependent on checking it every spare moment I have, just for something to fill the void. When I have littles, I don't want to be constantly connected.. I just wanna be there. I didn't miss it, until I was cruising, deliriously happy and content with the lushness of the expansive park and the clear blue skies and missing the camera on my phone to document. Always the need to document, to share... is this a healthy thing? I think so-- I want to remember, to stay connected with my loves far away, but there needs to be a balance between sharing everything and keeping things sacred.

Like the muskrats I saw swimming in the canal, someone's dogs just staring with longing as they floated by. Definitely sacred. I've never seen a muskrat except while watching "Rikki Tikki Tavi," so I think that's what they were.  Not cute like otters.  Not one bit.

You know what else I would have taken pictures of on the way home? The sweet old man in the middle of a field of wildflowers up to his knees, snapping pictures of the brilliantly yellow buds with his good camera. Or the toddler in the middle of a deep, twitchy nap at the pool under the shade of an umbrella while his momma got a few moment's respite to read a girly magazine.

I probably would have surreptitiously snapped a picture of the leathery old men that sunbathe naked in the local park, just enough out of view to notice details, but close enough for a full moon.

For today, my descriptions will have to suffice.

Confirmed through a google search. It was definitely a muskrat. Those tails, though! ugh. 

my head is full

I miss writing regularly. Have most of my recent posts started with this statement? 

I want to capture this moment in time, deja vu in a sense because here we are, gliding through each summer's day in Frankfurt but unable to make plans farther out than a month's time. 

Patiently waiting on news of a career move for the hubs, which will move us from this city we love to an entirely new place. 

Am I ready for that? 

I'm used to this place, its quirks and barely getting by with my pigeon German skills, the intricacies and beauty of the culture and the people... the simplicity of rail travel, the joys of finding yourself in another country for the weekend for $50 and a three-hour journey. 

The move brings the opportunity to work again, and oh how I've missed it. Don't get me wrong, having a year off has been absolutely amazing-- the chance to show off this country and travel when friends and family have visited, building sweet relationships with friends whom I'll be connected with forever, and exploring who I am and what makes me tick. Despite not making enough effort to really connect with a church here, I learned to crave quiet, uninhibited mornings with a Bible in hand and nothing pressing to attend to. 

Should I have spent more time learning German? Absolutely. And I know it'll be my biggest regret. But oh, what a year it's been.

I think I'm ready to be back in the real world, one where you work and save money and have to actually clean your house regularly. The prospect of going back to work is quite daunting, especially since I'm pursuing a different career path than teaching. 

Not sure what that entails yet, and it freaks me out a bit, but I know everything will work out how it's supposed to.

For now, I'll savor these last few moments of solitude, because despite the creeping feelings of loneliness and anxiety of having wasted a year with not working,

I know there will be times where I'll look back with longing.

The weekend promises proper Frankfurt summer excursions, including but not limited to the epic flea market on the Main river, street festivals, massive football field-sized swimming pools, and maybe a picnic or two. And next weekend, our long-lost Brits will be returning to the home of schnitzels and lederhosen (both of which I spelled incorrectly and had to google for correctness.)

 Rain, rain, stay away!

There's something gratifying about picking blackberries in the waning light in the company of bunnies.

A Surprise Visitor!

"If I don't come now, I'm not going to make it before you leave..."

We booked a flight the next day, arriving in Cologne and leaving 10 days later from Copenhagen. 

It took her three grueling days to finally arrive, beyond exhausted but ready for adventure.

And oh, what a week it was, from Heidelburg, Prague to Berlin, and finally relaxing in Copenhagen.

I made Ashley try a raw meat sandwich, street hotdogs in sideways buns, and fried fish that made her puke in a cemetery an hour later.  There wasn't anything she wouldn't try, even if only once. 

Our whirlwind trip began in Prague, which has always been a dream of Ashley's to visit. A few of my favorites:

If you get a chance to go, visit the Jewish cemetery and the small museum-- it contains hundreds of artwork done by children in a neighboring concentration camp. Utterly heart breaking. 

This guy was able to meet us in Berlin for the weekend-- 

It's such a joy to be able to share life with the people that mean the most to you!

So glad she was able to come-- we had a fabulous time :)