I have been an avid soccer player most of my life and although I would get up early in America to watch past World Cup tournaments, it is great living in Europe and getting the full force of the excitement! Ireland was not included in this due to a handball by France, so there was not as much excitement in this country, but still exciting none the less. At work we even hooked up our telly to catch a few matches during the day.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
More countries to check 'The List'!
Luxembourg, France, Belgium and Germany in just 4 days! Katrin lives right on the boarder of those three countries in 
Germany so with them being so close, I could not resist. I was not going to let the eruption of Eyjafjöll volcano in Iceland ruin my trip! With all the ash in the air so many flights had to be canceled and I originally had to miss out on going for Dominic's birthday. But once the two of them split up, I still was going to go to support my friend! On the night before the big trip the ash did spoil it and had to be canceled, luckily the two other lads that were going to accompany me got to also get a refund. Fast forward two months later, and I finally got to go back again! Third trip is the charm!
A week before I arrived, Katrin had lost her job, and although she had done a few interviews, her last one was up in her old university town, so we took a road trip up to Aachen
to stay the night and go to her interview. We took the long way around just so we could detour into Luxembourg
City, where we had a wonderful breakfast, and into Belgium, seeing where my friend Jen is from, Liege. We arrived in Aachen just in time for a pretty spectacular thunder storm. No lightening, but pure rumbling in your gut thunder. Her interview went well and we had much to discuss while wandering around her old college town, taking in the sights. It was a great last night in Germany!
I was so happy to get and see her hometown, college area, and meet her entire family. Although I have been to Germany many times now, it was great spending it in a more remote part of the country and seeing it through the eyes of the locals. Next time maybe I can bring Ben on a not so stressful trip!
Germany so with them being so close, I could not resist. I was not going to let the eruption of Eyjafjöll volcano in Iceland ruin my trip! With all the ash in the air so many flights had to be canceled and I originally had to miss out on going for Dominic's birthday. But once the two of them split up, I still was going to go to support my friend! On the night before the big trip the ash did spoil it and had to be canceled, luckily the two other lads that were going to accompany me got to also get a refund. Fast forward two months later, and I finally got to go back again! Third trip is the charm!Upon leaving a cold and rainy Ireland, I landed in a warm and sunny 
Germany! Since it is quite a drive from Saarlouis to the airport, we stopped on the side of the road, took out a blanket and sat next to some old ruins and had a mini picnic. After we had our snack, it was off to a Lake to enjoy a mid day cold beer and listen to someone playing their huge Swiss horn. We had a dinner with her sister and boyfriend who have amazing English. It was a good evening trying all different types of wines, whiskeys, appretieves and beers of course all whilst sitting on their back porch over looking their garden. By nightfall, we finally made it to her father's house to relax and play with his dog Spider, the frisbee catching superstar!
Germany! Since it is quite a drive from Saarlouis to the airport, we stopped on the side of the road, took out a blanket and sat next to some old ruins and had a mini picnic. After we had our snack, it was off to a Lake to enjoy a mid day cold beer and listen to someone playing their huge Swiss horn. We had a dinner with her sister and boyfriend who have amazing English. It was a good evening trying all different types of wines, whiskeys, appretieves and beers of course all whilst sitting on their back porch over looking their garden. By nightfall, we finally made it to her father's house to relax and play with his dog Spider, the frisbee catching superstar!The next morning we rose early, since it was getting hotter and hotter, and drove with her sister to Strasbourg, 
France. It is a great little city, with the river intertwining through the city creating all sorts of canals, similar to Brugge or Venice. I even got to try out what little bit of French I have retained to order some fantastic wine. We strolled through the city just soaking up the sunshine. That night was Saarlouis's summer festival, similar to the Rose Festival for those that live around Portland. We met up with some of her friends and just strolled through the throngs of people going from stage to stage listening to various music, sampling all the beer. The three of us girls, Kat, myself and her sister, Hannah, had a great time singing on our way back to the house.
France. It is a great little city, with the river intertwining through the city creating all sorts of canals, similar to Brugge or Venice. I even got to try out what little bit of French I have retained to order some fantastic wine. We strolled through the city just soaking up the sunshine. That night was Saarlouis's summer festival, similar to the Rose Festival for those that live around Portland. We met up with some of her friends and just strolled through the throngs of people going from stage to stage listening to various music, sampling all the beer. The three of us girls, Kat, myself and her sister, Hannah, had a great time singing on our way back to the house.Since it was a late evening, 
we had a bit of a sleep in before driving into the main county capitol of Saarbrücken so Kat could perform in a flash mob. Since I knew what was going to happen I positioned myself next to a main open plaza. Suddenly music came from no where and some dancers appeared out of the crowd of unsuspecting shoppers and started dancing. The song changed and suddenly 50 people joined them from the crowd, Kat included, to do what looks like an impromptu dance routine. When the music ended, they just walked off like nothing happened. It was great to watch! With the temperature rising even higher, we decided that a milkshake was just what we needed.
I met a few more of her new friends, and I realized she has a good group of people around her back home. We strolled down the river and laid out in the sun next to the beer garden, enjoying some sausages and beer. My kind of lazy weekend. That night was the closing of the week long festival, so again we took the 10 minute stroll from her dad's house into the city centre to enjoy the fire work show and concerts.
we had a bit of a sleep in before driving into the main county capitol of Saarbrücken so Kat could perform in a flash mob. Since I knew what was going to happen I positioned myself next to a main open plaza. Suddenly music came from no where and some dancers appeared out of the crowd of unsuspecting shoppers and started dancing. The song changed and suddenly 50 people joined them from the crowd, Kat included, to do what looks like an impromptu dance routine. When the music ended, they just walked off like nothing happened. It was great to watch! With the temperature rising even higher, we decided that a milkshake was just what we needed.I met a few more of her new friends, and I realized she has a good group of people around her back home. We strolled down the river and laid out in the sun next to the beer garden, enjoying some sausages and beer. My kind of lazy weekend. That night was the closing of the week long festival, so again we took the 10 minute stroll from her dad's house into the city centre to enjoy the fire work show and concerts.
A week before I arrived, Katrin had lost her job, and although she had done a few interviews, her last one was up in her old university town, so we took a road trip up to Aachen
to stay the night and go to her interview. We took the long way around just so we could detour into Luxembourg
City, where we had a wonderful breakfast, and into Belgium, seeing where my friend Jen is from, Liege. We arrived in Aachen just in time for a pretty spectacular thunder storm. No lightening, but pure rumbling in your gut thunder. Her interview went well and we had much to discuss while wandering around her old college town, taking in the sights. It was a great last night in Germany! I was so happy to get and see her hometown, college area, and meet her entire family. Although I have been to Germany many times now, it was great spending it in a more remote part of the country and seeing it through the eyes of the locals. Next time maybe I can bring Ben on a not so stressful trip!
Strange Anomaly #56
I find myself trying to still be the good little hippy that I am by recycling and buying items that are good for the environment and what not. But I got confused when shopping for clothes washing soap and the blue one was 'Non-Bio' and the green one was 'Bio'. I of course buy the 'Bio' but finally got a reason for what it means and had to share in my discovery:
"Biological washing powder contains enzymes which break down stains etc in the wash .Non Bio doesn't contain the enzymes.
In terms of the environmental impact, neither system is perfect.
Whilst the enzymes contained in a biological wash powder may take longer to disperse in the environment, the temperatures for washing can be lower than for a non-biological powder. The non-bio powder could take a higher temperature to do the same wash, which uses more electricity and water and this also has an environmental impact.
Unless you have really filthy wash I would avoid biological powder."
In terms of the environmental impact, neither system is perfect.
Whilst the enzymes contained in a biological wash powder may take longer to disperse in the environment, the temperatures for washing can be lower than for a non-biological powder. The non-bio powder could take a higher temperature to do the same wash, which uses more electricity and water and this also has an environmental impact.
Unless you have really filthy wash I would avoid biological powder."
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