Caffeine hangovers and edible sushi

I've learned some valuable lessons over the last few days. First, there is such a thing as a Coca-Cola hangover. Second, I have found a kind of sushi that I enjoy. And finally, it is never too early to start planning a vacation that you might never take.

Starting off with the first item on the agenda--caffeine hangovers. For a brief but memorable period in my life that transpired soon after college, inspired by long work hours and the appeal of an unlimited soda fridge, I consumed large quantities of caffeinated soda at work. Upwards of 5 or 6 Coke cans accumulated on my desk each day, and I lived a sugared, caffeinated existence in which I never felt well but didn't suffer too badly, either.

As it turned out, consuming that much caffeine can cause cysts to grow, in me anyway, so one surgery later, I learned my lesson and cut caffeine almost entirely from my life--except in rare circumstances when exhaustion creeps in but I have to stay up.

Last Friday night, I felt the sleepies creeping up on me but had only just arrived at dinner, so I ordered a Coke, and a 20-ounce bottle arrived--much more than I usually drink. But I was thirsty and guzzled it down in its entirety over the course of the meal. I was wired for a couple hours but was able to fall asleep afterwards.

Until 4 AM in the morning, that is, when I awoke, wide awake and unable to fall back to sleep. I drank the Coke 9 hours ago but was still feeling its effects. Lesson learned--I shouldn't mess with caffeine, especially when I drink it so rarely--unless I want it to mess with me.

And on to the second lesson--I can eat sushi! A couple years ago, I took B to the smallest restaurant I have ever been to for his birthday. The restaurant was Japanese and served only sushi. B had been confident that I would like sushi, despite my protests that I have never met any seafood that I can eat without gagging, so I figured it was a golden opportunity to try something new. Bad idea. I could barely swallow the single piece of sushi that I ate because the seaweed flavor and texture was inedible (for me). And then I sat not eating at the table for the rest of the meal as B ate both his and my sushi and as the chef, who was 6 feet away, stood and glared at me. It was an uncomfortable meal.

Finding a restaurant that served sushi without fish or seaweed seemed unlikely, so I gave up on ever being able to eat it and moved on. But then Saturday night we went to a birthday dinner for my friend J at a Japanese restaurant and I asked--jokingly--if they served sushi without seaweed--and they do! They can wrap their sushi in either seaweed or a soy wrap. B ordered a roll of my choosing--sweet potato and pineapple--with the soy wrap, and it was amazing!

The wrap had a hint of sweetness and crunch that really worked with my roll. I loved it and ate almost all of it in addition to the noodles that I ordered. I'm so excited and am eager to return to the restaurant to try more options. Since B travels infrequently these days and therefore doesn't get his thrice-weekly sushi fix anymore, I suspect that he will be open to the occasional sushi dinner.

Finally, vacation planning--everyone's favorite activity--or mine, anyway. My latest scheme involves England--London, mostly--and possibly Dublin, or maybe Paris again, or maybe Brussels or Amsterdam or Copenhagen. Who knows--I can plan a trip involving all of them because we might never take it. But the fact of the matter is that the pound is currently worth about the same as the euro, so why not consider visiting the motherland again. Last night I picked up Rick Steves' Great Britain 2008 for the bargain price of $3.99 (because the 2009 version is now available)--let the planning begin!

Il Cinghiale cubed!

Apparently, we've been stalking a wild boar statue on our last 3 European vacations. The statue is known as Il Cinghiale, which means--I think--the boar, or maybe the wild boar, in Italian.

It all started in Paris. We came across this cool statue of a wild boar in the Louvre, and B loved it so much that we took his picture in front of it. I have to point out that we took very few pictures in the Louvre that evening because I was tired and not particularly in an artsy mood (when am I ever)--that we took a photo of it meant that B really must have loved it.

And then we came across a similar statue--a fountain, actually--in Florence. We learned that Il Cinghiale was created originally in Florence, and all other statues are imitations. The boar was right in front of a covered outdoor market from which we bought several souvenirs and to which we continued returning, so we visited Il Cinghiale several times while in Florence. You're supposed to drop a coin in the grate and then rub his nose to guarantee that you'll return to Florence. B more than happily obliged.

And then--then!--we came across another Cinghiale, this time en route to the Marienplatz in Munich. We didn't even know that there was a Cinghiale in Germany! After Florence, we joked about vacationing only in places that featured a Cinghiale statue, but we didn't realize that our joke would come true. You can see B holding up 3 fingers, to indicate his third Cinghiale find.

If you know of any Cinghiale statues in Spain, please let me know. I might even organize a day trip around going to see it.

Final Germany/Austria pics

I wanted to post a few more photos from our Germany trip. This trip has been much less daunting to recap since it was 1/3 the length of our last trip. The secret to being able to share more about your vacation, apparently, is to take a short trip.

Here's B standing next to the biggest stein we'd ever seen. The sign in the window proclaimed (in English) "The biggest beerstein of the world." It cost €1650, which was around $2200 when we were there. We didn't buy it, though--we saved our euros for...

Our cuckoo clock! Here it is, or here is its model. Our actual clock was to arrive 4-8 weeks after we purchased it (on December 11, in case you want to start the countdown). Only 2 weeks have passed, so we have a while go to before we hear any cuckoo-ing in our house.

On the hour, the cuckoo comes out of the little door, and then the hiker moves his stick up and down like he's walking, the waterwheel spins, and the dancers spin around as a song plays. We have to wind it--by pulling down one of the pinecones--every day. We haven't yet decided who will be in charge of winding the cuckoo clock, but I think it's safe to say that we won't have daily cuckooing.

And who is this creepy person? We're not sure. Twice before Christmas, a group of young Germans put on the "Krampusrun," which is supposed to resurrect old German traditions. We never figured out what the traditions are, but we stalked the Krampusrunners like papparazzi following Britney, and we got a few good shots. The characters seemed most interested in scaring young children. I had to wonder if this was a tradition that needed resurrecting.

Store windows were done well, and here's one of my favorites.

And finally, a breathtaking view of the alps from Salzburg. I hopped the wall (not exactly a legal move) to get some better shots. It turned out that my subterfuge was unnecessary, as another part of the fort allowed the same view. But I still prefer my "illegal" pics--I earned them.

Life list recap: How I've done in 2008

Last year for New Year's Eve, B and I created life lists. Life lists mean many things to different people, but for me, it was an opportunity to create a list of tasks and experiences that I'd like to accomplish over my lifetime. Some of the items would fit better on a list of new year's resolutions, and some are one-time-only experiences. Here is a selection of goals from my list and an update on my progress.

Health
1. Train for vacations for a month.
I know, I know--training for vacations? Silly, perhaps, but worthwhile when you don't wake up in pain after walking for miles and miles the previous day. We did great for Italy and ok for Germany (it's tough going for long walks in the cold). Spain will be a challenge, since we'll leave while it's still cold. I'll do my best.

2. Walk once/week in the summer.
Success! Having a fall vacation is excellent inspiration.

3. At least try going to the gym at work.
Sometimes the key to success is setting the bar low. I tried going to the gym and even went back a couple times. Perhaps the new year will bring increased motivation to "at least try it" a little more.

Money and wealth
1. Develop and stick to a savings plan.
Success! This year, we fully funded our emergency fund. Rather than save for our next house while savings rates are so low, we've developed a plan to pay off our second mortgage early.

2. Save for our next house (~10%).
This savings goal was more attainable before real estate lost so much of its value. I had actually hoped that we'd be able to save 20% (either in equity or in capital), but barring a windfall, we'll likely have to settle for 10%, or a smaller future house. (McMansions are overrated, anyway--and why give up our deliciously cheap heating bills? We might just stay here forever.)

3. Stop being scared of taxes and filing.
I forced myself to file our taxes last year, and I'm not scared of them anymore. I'm far from being a tax expert, but I understand our (admittedly straightforward) situation well enough.

School and education
1. Learn conversation skills for countries to which I travel.
Check! I know little bits of French, Spanish, Italian, and Spanish--not enough to carry on a conversation, of course, but enough to not be totally offensive to shopkeepers and waiters. And we have language CDs and mini dictionaries in case we ever go back and need to refresh.

2. Take art classes - paint a painting.
I have made no progress on this goal. Perhaps I will investigate nearby art classes for 2009.

Family and home
1. Hang more art on our walls.
We're doing great in this area! We've framed prints that we bought in Italy and France, and we've also bought frames for photos that we took in Europe. Plus there's the cuckoo clock coming in the mail...

Travel
1. Life in another country for at least a month.
Technically, I have already accomplished this goal (in college, England for a summer), but I would love to do it again. Traveling for such a long time is difficult with limited vacation time, but I'm keeping the item on the list anyway.

2. Experience 24-hour daylight.
There aren't too many places where I can achieve this goal--you have to be awfully close to the Arctic Circle right around June 21. Perhaps if the Icelandic economy is still having difficulties in June, we can consider a trip.

Creativity and self expression
1. Write a novel or memoir.
I'm not sure if I have the writing skills to craft a compelling novel (or an interesting-enough life to craft a compelling memoir), but perhaps my expectations are too high--even writing a bad novel or memoir would still satisfy this goal. Every November I contemplate participating in NaNoWriMo, and every November, I decide, maybe next year. Maybe 2009 (and the landmark birthday that it will bring in November) will be the magical year.

2. Buy only clothing that I love.
Yes! I love this goal, and I love what it has done to my wardrobe. Since March or April, B and I have given ourselves allowances to spend on whatever we want, and mine almost always goes toward clothing. The allowances aren't high, but even buying one or two new pieces each month can significantly improve your wardrobe and allow you to finally donate those pieces that you really don't like. Looking into your closet and seeing only pieces that you love is an amazing feeling. I'm not there yet, but I'm getting close, and it's fantastic.

Pictures from Sound of Music tour

Our Sound of Music tour was a multicultural affair. We were two Americans, two Brits, two Japanese, and one Australian living in Dubai, and none of us had a deep love for the movie, but none of us complained when our tourguide played the movie soundtrack, either. There was even some foot tapping and head bobbing.

We visited the cathedral where the wedding scene was filmed (second pic). The first pic is of the town with the cathedral--very picturesque. In the background of the third pic is the house that was used (on the outside anyway) for the von Trapps' house. And the fourth pic--that one is obvious--the famous gazebo! Only the outside of this gazebo was used--the inside shots were filmed on a soundstage. The gazebo is now locked because an 80-year-old woman broke her hip while jumping from bench to bench a few years ago. All it takes is one person to ruin it for the rest of us...

The movie, while popular around the world, is not widely known in Austria, as it played in the country for only three weeks. A German movie had come out several years prior and portrayed the von Trapp family's story more realistically. Incidentally, they did not escape by walking over a mountain--a mountain that leads to Germany--they left on a train. Nevertheless, if you can suspend disbelief--or something--the movie is great fun, as is the tour.

Christmas market pictures

Christmas markets--the main reason I wanted to go to Germany so badly! They exceeded my expectations. They were overwhelming, but in a I'm-surrounded-by-too-much-awesomeness kind of way--not in a bad way.

In general, I preferred the Munich markets over the Salzburg markets for the goods that were sold, though the food options in Salzburg--different varieties of pretzels and baked potatoes hot out of the oven with lots of topping options--were better (keep in mind that I only like sausage when it's freezing cold outside, so perhaps I am not the best judge of the Bavarian cuisine).

Providing text between photos is a guaranteed way to mess up the formatting in your post, so I'll refrain from individual comments--most of the stalls are self explanatory anyway.

Castle pics from Germany

We visited 2 castles whilst (why isn't that word used more frequently in the US?) in Germany, and here are a few of my fav pics.

The first three are of Neuschwanstein (Noysh-van-stine - apply a heavy Arnold Schwarzenegger accent to sound like a local) and the last is of Linderhof (is it just me, or is my skin the same color as the castle?). Both castles belonged to King Ludwig, who, after racking up serious debt to build his fairy-tale Neuschwanstein, was committed to an institution by his family and found dead in a shallow lake several days later, accompanied by the (also deceased) physician who signed the papers. Both were known as excellent swimmers. Mysterious? I'll say. No one knows what happened, and his actual madness is debatable. B and I, always willing to play armchair psychiatrists, have some hypotheses, but no one will ever know for sure.

Walt Disney used Neuschwanstein as the basis for Sleeping Beauty's castle in Disneyland (that's the one in California, for the non-Disneyphiles among us), and he couldn't have chosen a better model. It's fitting for any royalty, even though--sadly--the majority of its rooms were never completed, as it was opened for tourism almost immediately after Ludwig passed. Cutting-edge for its day, the castle features central heating (of sorts), plumbing, and even a telephone.

We visited on a cloudy day, so my pictures look nothing like any of the postcard-perfect images that you'll find online, but I thought that the fog was fitting for the story that accompanies the castle.

Snowbound

New England packs a doozy of a winter, featuring six months of potential snowfall and unpredictable weather. It's unpleasant, but you get used to snow ruining your plans. You learn not to take blizzards personally, and you reschedule when you can.

But our plans for Friday night--seeing a holiday concert--couldn't be rescheduled. We already bought the tickets, and the show is an annual tradition. I've been going for 4 or 5 years now, and snowstorms haven't kept us away in the past. Of course, in the past, our proximity to the city meant we could take public transportation when it snowed. Living in the boonies leaves us in a trickier situation when a foot of snow is coming to town.

The timing of the snow made driving potentially more complicated, very much like the Dec 13 storm of last year (aka the worst day ever, in which I traveled a half mile in 9 hours and then had to turn around and go back to work when my car battery was about to die)--the snow was due to start around lunchtime and get bad in a hurry. I was concerned that roads would be congested with drivers who left immediately after lunch, just like last year, and that we wouldn't be able to get to the show if we waited until after work got out.

The safest solution was to get downtown in the morning before the snow started and stay there all day, until after the snow ended. My initial plan was to take my laptop in and work all day in a Starbuck's. Unpleasant, perhaps, but doable, and I could just put my laptop in the car after work and head over to the show.

Then I remembered seeing a Travelzoo deal recently for a discounted hotel room in the city. I double-checked, and the rate was amazing. Even better, the hotel was in the Starwood family. It would be one final opportunity to enjoy B's hotel status before the new year steals it away. I double-checked with B, and he was agreeable, so I booked it the day before the storm without a problem.

And am I glad that we did. The room (technically a suite, but more like an oversized room, though we did have two windows) was ready when we arrived at 8 AM, so I didn't have to spend any time working in a Starbuck's (though we did stop into one, for B's noun-string coffee and my noun-string hot chocolate), and its proximity to restaurants meant that I didn't have to go outside again until we left that evening for the show. And not having to face a long drive at midnight through the snow was justification and then some for the expense (so much that getting a hotel room might have to become a new annual tradition).

After we got back home from the hotel the next morning, we spent the rest of the weekend hibernating due to the snowstorm that arrived on Sunday. I've learned that the best way to pass a snowbound day is to plan your next vacation. The Madrid leg of our trip is all planned, and I've made significant progress on Barcelona. I still don't speak Catalan, but perhaps my deep admiration for Gaudi will shine through during my attempts at Spanish.

Favorite photos from our trip

Here are a few of my favorite photos from our recent trip.

Inside a church in Munich.

Riding the funicular up to the fortress in Salzburg.

Up at the fortress in Salzburg.

Salzburg at night.

Salzburg skyline.

A scenic Austrian overlook.

An Austrian lake.

Sipping kinderpunch at the Munich Christkindlmarkt.

Froehliche Weihnachten!

And we're back (from Germany). I'm jet lagged (I awoke at 3 AM today) and tired (I went to bed at 10 PM last night) but we had a fantastic time.

The weather was good. We had only one rainy day, the day that we landed, and we had two beautiful, blue, sunny days. We had a couple of days of light flurries--sipping hot punch in the Munich Christmas markets during an evening snowfall was a highlight of the trip. All stalls serve their beverages in mugs and food on ceramic plates. You pay a deposit (usually a couple euros), which you get back when you return the mug or plate. The system is ingenious and it cuts down on litter dramatically. We kept one of the mugs as a souvenir of our visits to the Christmas markets.

The markets are magical--white lights everywhere, and little stalls that (in Munich, anyway) specialize in different goods. Some sell only straw and wood ornaments, others sell wood-carved items, others sell pewter ornaments, and others sell gluhwein (these stalls were the most popular). Germans, while exceedingly polite, especially in conversation, seemed less concerned with personal space at the markets and would wedge their bodies between you and the stand if they wanted to see something in front of you. People didn't push; they simply walked where they wanted to, regardless of whether you were standing there. Eventually I started defending my personal space a little more aggressively and felt less uncomfortable.

But let me again emphasize their politeness, lest you think that I left the country with a negative impression of the German people. I rarely had a conversation with a German who didn't use "danke" and "bitte" with frequency, and they spoke English without attitude or annoyance. We met only two Germans who didn't speak English, and we met a lot of Germans. I felt a little more warmth from the Austrians with whom we interacted in Salzburg, but I felt no negative energy from anyone, even though being an American who doesn't speak the country's language is not necessarily the best recommendation when you're traveling in Europe.

And overall, the public bathrooms were the best that I've seen in Europe. Clean restrooms are important. Even the bathroom at the Linderhof castle, while it had no heat, was still sparkling clean.

And our hotel rooms--it's going to be difficult to give up B's hotel status next year. He hasn't traveled enough this year to keep his Platinum Starwood status, but we got some great perks for this trip. We were upgraded to suites at all of our hotels, including the best room in the hotel in Salzburg--it even had 2 bathrooms, his and hers, just like home (mine was bigger--just like home). The separate sitting rooms were useful when one of us was battling jetlag and a sleepless night and wanted to get up and read. I resisted the urge to steal the Hermes products in the bathrooms, though I was tempted.

We took two tours, one to Linderhof castle, Neuschwanstein castle, and Oberamergau, the town that puts on the Passion play every ten years (next one is in 2010, in case you're interested); we also took the Sound of Music tour. The castles were amazing and decadent and inspired fun conversation about the types of houses that we'd build if we were looking to drop a couple mil' on a dwelling. I decided that mine would be schizophrenic because I'd be unable to decide on one theme and would try to create individual themes for each room, and it would feel like a humpty-dumpty house that wasn't put back together correctly. The Sound of Music tour took us into the lakes region near Salzburg--now that would be a great location for a vacation home. I think if we went back in the summertime, I'd be interested in taking both tours again because the scenery would be so different.

I would like to go back, but I had mixed feelings about the food. I've tried on numerous occasions to like sausage, but I haven't had a lot of luck. But I wanted to try the traditional Bavarian cuisine, so I ate more sausage in one week than I have eaten in the last year, maybe two years (maybe 10 years). The meat options on menus were generally sausage, pork, and boiled beef, with nary a chicken in sight. The potato salad, frequently served warm, was pretty good, and the streudel was also good. But it's going to be a long time before I'm ready to face even a hot dog again.

One more thing (I've given up on paragraph transitions--I was never good at them anyway)--I'm going back and forth about writing this, but if you go to Germany, it's something you should be aware of so that you'll be prepared for it--I was not. Hearing people speak the German language took me by surprise; or rather, my reaction took me by surprise. The only time I have ever heard German spoken is in movies. And unfortunately, usually when you hear German in American movies, the movies are set during WWII, and the Germans are the "bad guys," who are usually pursuing the "good guys." It was difficult to hear German and not associate it with the "bad guys" from the movies. I'm thankful that I've had the opportunity to hear German outside of movies and create new associations with the language.

And finally, on to the Lessons Learned section of the post, where I share the wisdom (ha, ha) that I have acquired over the last week. First, if you're going to pack only 2 outfits for a week of travel, be sure that you love them because you will get sick of them quickly. Second, it is possible to fit 45 pounds of stuff into a small rollaboard. Cram that sucker full and check him in the hold. Finally, spending time outdoors in the cold, while unpleasant, is not fatal, and is actually sort of energizing. However, hand warmers and long underwear are critical.

The cuckoo clock will arrive within 2 months, and we leave for Spain in 3 months. Giddyup.

Lots to be grateful for

I'm sitting in my cozy living room next to a roaring fire--next to as in, as physically close as I can get without burning myself--listening to sentimental Christmas music, having enjoyed a liberating day off (photos of the grand hair chop coming soon), thinking of all that I am grateful for.

I'm grateful that I can end sentences with prepositions without feeling guilty. Breaking some rules is fun.

I'm thankful for the life that B and I have built. I can honestly say that I have the life I always wanted and worked toward--and it's better than I ever imagined. B is the yin to my yang, the woof to my meow, my perfect match. I love our home, and every day I count my luck that he willingly goes along with my crazy ideas, from redecorating our bathroom around a sink (a sink!) to satisfying nearly every travel whim to shopping as often as I want (trust me--it's often).

I'm grateful that we're both employed heading into difficult economic times and that we would be ok financially for a reasonable amount of time if we weren't. I'm thankful that I don't know how much value I've lost in my 401k and IRA accounts and that I have enough working years to make up for the loss. I'm proud that B and I created a budget that works for us and that we generally stick to it...most of the time.

I'm grateful for our excellent health. I'm thankful that we can buy fresh food and that starting next summer, all of our veggies and meat will be locally grown. I'm so glad that I now eat tomatoes--they are amazing. How did I live so long without them...

I'm grateful that we can travel as much as we do. We're creating memories and also sharing a little of ourselves with the people we meet. In spite of my lacking linguistic skills, I hope we're representing our country well. I'm thankful that memories of our trips are sprinkled throughout our home, from a Venetian mask to French prints on the wall to our Provencal bedspread. I hope we have many more trips in our future.

I'm grateful for the people closest to us--family, friends, and coworkers--people to celebrate with, laugh with, and enjoy life with. Life is better when you spend it with people that you love.

Sorry, but sentimentality got the better of me. Happy holidays, and I hope that you have lots to be grateful for.