Pre-Christmas Week in Atlanta

I landed in Atlanta a hour earlier than scheduled and Sue was waiting to pick me up curbside at the airport!  On the drive to my house we got caught up on my trip and what had been going on in Atlanta while I was gone.  I was in desperate need of a pedicure so we decided to meet up in the morning at the nail salon and grab lunch after our pedicures.  I was able to stay awake until 11:00 before passing out for the night and was thrilled to stay asleep until 7:30 am.  I was only going to be in Atlanta for a week before heading up to NJ and MA for Christmas, so I had a lot to accomplish in a few short days:  finish Christmas shopping, prepare for and host Stacey's going away party, volunteer at Project Open Hand, have lunch and/or dinner with about 12 people and take Sue to the airport for her flight to PA.  Of course, I had to fit swimming at the Y in each day as well, so it was going to be a busy, busy week.  I have told many people over the past 4 months that I continue to be surprised by how quickly I can fill up a day with activity.  For the past 16 years I spent 10-14 hours a day working, using only the remaining hours in the day doing "other" things.  How is it possible  that I freed up 10-14 hours a day, but still have enough things to do to fill an entire day with activity?!?  Seems odd.

When I grabbed the mail that had amassed while I was in Europe, I had about 60 Christmas cards to look through and read.  For those of you who don't know, I LOVE getting mail.  It is literally one of my favorite things.  Christmas is the best mail-related time of year, followed closely by my birthday!  :)  I have been fortunate this year to see many of my friends over the past 4 months, so photos of their kids (and how much they've grown) weren't as much of a shock as they have been in years' past.  Regardless, it has been so much fun to get each card, look at the photos and read the notes.  It's wonderful to know that everyone is doing so well and prospering in 2012.  I have to give special recognition to my friends Jason and Frank who made personal cards for each person.  Well done, boys.  Well done.

Jason and Frank's card with personal photos of us together from 2012!

Cille, Sue and I got together with Stacey on Sunday afternoon/evening as an official send-off for her move to Savannah.  It was so nice to have a small group of friends get together to wish her, Jason and Jack well with their move.  While we all knew how excited they were to get closer to Stacey's family and raise Jack with his cousins, it was sad to know we won't get to see them as often as we are all accustomed to now-a-days.  Jack was loving being one of the only boys amongst many girls, showing off his muscles while changing into his pajamas.

Jack showing off his muscles before putting on his pajamas!

On Monday a group of friends and I volunteered at Project Open Hand for the day.  We were lucky enough to work in the kitchen instead of the production line which meant we got to marinate ~1,500 chicken breasts, season ~1,860 fish fillets with lemon pepper and prepare ~2,000 vegetables for cooking.  It was really great to know the work we did would immediately (next day) have a positive impact on people who have needs that require nutritionally sound meals be delivered to their homes.  I hope to volunteer there again in January and would love for anyone reading this to join me.  Just shoot me a note and we can go together.

I am smart enough to put a picture of someone else (Cille) in a hair net on the blog!

(Yes, you do have to wear a hair net when volunteering at Project Open Hand)

The rest of my week was spent catching up with friends I'd been missing while in Europe.  I was lucky enough to meet up with different people for every single lunch and dinner of the week.  I also swam at the Y every day and found the last few Christmas gifts I needed to purchase before flying to my parents on Friday.  I had breakfast with the Goodman's on Friday morning before heading to the airport, as they were flying to Norway at the same time I was flying to NJ.  We played for a bit, ate some bagels and hugged/kissed good-bye since we wouldn't be seeing each other for nearly 2 weeks!

Cream cheese faced, Nora!

Cream cheese faced, Annika!

It's hard to believe 2012 is coming to a close already.  I'll write one more post after Christmas with updates on all of Parker and Evie's loot from Santa.  My parents and I leave to go see them tomorrow in Boston and I simply can't wait.  Merry Christmas...

Helsinki, Finland

I arrived in Helsinki at 11:00 pm due to the time change from Norway and was glad I had decided to spend the night at the Hilton inside the airport complex.  When I made the reservation 3 weeks ago I'd figured I would be exhausted upon arrival and in need of a good nights' sleep.  I was right.  I made the short walk to the hotel, got upgraded to the Executive Floor and went to bed.  I wanted to get an early start in the morning so I could get into central Helsinki and start checking out the sites.  When I woke up and looked out the window it was snowing like a blizzard so I thought I better check the weather.  It was supposed to snow like this all day.  UGH!  I knew that going to Scandinavia in winter was a risk, but I'd had such good luck in Oslo that I was hoping for similar results in Helsinki.  I had some breakfast and decided to make my way into central Helsinki anyway so I would be where I needed to be if the snow decided to give me a break.  :)  My hotel let me check-in early so I dropped my luggage and braved the blizzard conditions in search of lunch.  I made it about 3 blocks before I realized there was no way I was going to be able to walk the city for the day with this kind of snow coming down.  I was dressed in full snow gear and was still getting cold from the relentless wind.  I grabbed a sandwich and a hot chocolate at a cafe and went back to the hotel to read up on the indoor activities I might be able to tackle for the day.  For those of you who didn't know - Finland is where the sauna was invented.  Apparently, it is quite common in Finland to go to a public sauna and swim, have a refreshment and sit in the sauna.  This sounded like a great idea to me on such a blistery cold day and I didn't have to go far to partake.  Upon asking the front desk staff, I learned that the top floor of my hotel was equipped with an indoor pool, a refreshment bar and a series of individual saunas.  I reserved a sauna, put on my swim suit and made my way to the 8th floor!  After swimming for an hour I had a fresh squeezed orange juice and went into my designated sauna stall.  I was given a bucket of water with a ladle and instructions on what to do.  I walked into my private sauna, ladled some water on the hot rocks and had a seat.  It was awesome.  Hot, but awesome.  I noticed a small window with tinted glass on the far end of my sauna stall and decided to see what it was.  Much to my surprise, it was a window that opened to the outside.  Apparently the idea was that if it got too hot I could open the window and let fresh air (and snow) come in to cool me off.  So fun!  I will definitely being visiting the pool and saunas again during my time in Helsinki.

After a shower, a brief nap, a check of my email and getting caught up on my games of Words with Friends, I decided to see what my options were for dinner.  I really didn't want to spend my entire first day in Helsinki in the hotel...  Since it was still snowing like crazy, I asked for something nearby and casual (since I was in full snow gear) and the front desk staff gave me several suggestions.  I headed out into the blizzard again and on my way to the first restaurant they suggested I came across a building that appeared to have a large farmer's market inside.  I ducked in for a second to see what the deal was and was pleasantly surprised by what appeared to be a European version of Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia.  I made my way around the stalls and decided this would make a way better dinner option than a restaurant.  I bought some bread, meat, cheese, wine and dessert pastry.  Around the perimeter of the market where a handful of tables where I sat, enjoyed my dinner and did some people watching.  It was really quite good.  I checked the weather report for Wednesday and it said there was only a 10% chance of snow and a high of 27 degrees which sounded like a much better day for walking the city center and checking out the sites.  :)

I got up at 9:00 and headed downstairs for breakfast before hitting the streets of Helsinki for the day.  My goal was to see Senate Square, Helsinki Cathedral, Uspenski Cathedral, Temppeliaukio (the rock church), Market Square and visit a Christmas Market for some miscellaneous gifts.  Much to my surprise, I was able to accomplish all of this in about 5 hours of walking.  I didn't see a single snowflake all day and while it was cold and windy, I knew I had a sauna awaiting me back at the hotel!  I gobbled up a bratwurst at the Christmas Market for lunch and it was almost as good as the ones I had in Germany!  The gentlemen manning the grill was about 75 years old and decided to confess his love for me because I ate bratwurst.  He chatted me up for about half an hour and asked me to come back for more bratwurst the next day.  He was right in my typical demographic: men over 70 and children under 10.  :)  I headed back to the hotel around 3:00 for my swim/sauna and thawed out by the fireplace in the lobby with some hot chocolate before heading up to the 8th floor.

Senate Square and Helsinki Cathedral
(That is snow covering the stairs from the square up to the cathedral)

View of Helsinki from the bridge outside my hotel

Uspenski Cathedral

Pews, walls and windows inside Temppeliaukio (the rock church)

It has never bothered me to travel alone.  Of course, I have always preferred to travel with friends/family, but  an occasional trip on my own has always been enjoyable, too.  For some reason I was particularly unmotivated to go to a restaurant for dinner by myself in Helsinki.  I think it must have had to do with the fact that it got dark at 3:15 each day and walking around a new city in the dark by myself has never been something I am fond of, but regardless, I wasn't feeling particularly excited about walking 20 minutes to a restaurant on Wednesday night.  I gave myself a pep talk and headed for Vapiano for dinner.  When I arrived it was a little Italian place that had salad, pasta and pizza on the menu.  If I had to guess I would say it was the equivalent of a low-to-mid cost chain in the US.  Not my typical choice when traveling abroad, but I was there at this point and was going to eat!  The food was decent and I was one of numerous people eating as a "party of one".  I slowly meandered back towards the hotel, swinging through another Christmas Market along the route.  I got something for my Mom and Aunt Lois that I knew they'd both really enjoy so it was a success all around.  Then it was off to bed, as I had another full day of walking planned for tomorrow...

When I woke up on Thursday morning I was greeted with the cruel reality that it was going to be another blistery cold and windy day in Helsinki.  I had already made a list of the things I wanted to see on my last day in Helsinki and after a big breakfast decided to get started.  I bundled up extra warm since it was snowing even harder than it had been on Tuesday.  I headed in the direction of the Olympic Stadium which was the farthest of the places I wanted to see.  I figured that if I made it to the furthest place first, I could hit the others on my way back to the hotel.  It was so cold that the snow was forming icicles on my eye lashes and eyebrows.  I am not joking.  About 20 minutes into my walk I noticed there were considerably fewer people walking throughout the city than the day before.  Was this a sign?  I shrugged it off and kept going.  After about 35 minutes I made it to Olympic Stadium.  It was cool.  I decided to pay to take the elevator up to the top of the tower (mostly just so I could warm up and be inside for a bit) but the view wasn't great due to the snow and cloud cover.  Oh well.  I walked toward the Sibelius Monument next.  The monument is a sculpture that looks like an organ or some wind chimes and is dedicated to Jean Sibelius who was a famous Finnish composer.  It's located in Sibelius Park which was about a 15 minute walk from Olympic Stadium.  On my walk the icicles began forming on my face again, so I decided this would be my last stop for the morning.  I made it to the park, took some quick photos and headed back towards the hotel.  The walk got harder and harder as the snow continued to accumulate on the sidewalks, making a thick, slushy goop that made it hard to gain traction.  I was glad to have the boots I purchased for my trip to Antarctica with me, as they are the only thing that kept me from falling down many times.  :)

Olympic Stadium and Tower

Sibelius Monument (a bit blurry)

I decided I'd most likely stay inside the hotel for the rest of the afternoon even though I still wanted to go to the National Gallery.  It was just too cold to venture out again and a swim and sauna sounded too good to pass up.  If I change my mind I'll update the post, otherwise look for more posts when I am back in Atlanta.  

Olso, Norway

To say that getting from the Oslo Airport to downtown Oslo was easy would be an understatement.  The Flight Train was located directly outside the arrivals hall at the airport.  I bought a ticket, walked to the platform and got on the train.  Twenty-two minutes later I walked off the train at Central Station to see Morten's smiling face awaiting me on the platform.  What a great way to start an evening.  Morten is Gitte's husband and Gitte is Cille's sister.  As you hopefully know from earlier posts (or because you know me), Cille and Jonas are great friends of mine from Atlanta and Cille is Norwegian.  I have had the great pleasure of getting to know her family during their numerous visits to the US and was so thrilled when Morten and Gitte invited to me visit them during my self-imposed sabbatical from work.  A quick jaunt to Oslo was simple from Frankfurt and since I'd never been to Oslo before I was excited at the prospect of getting to see the city with the 'natives'.  And, if I am being honest - it wouldn't matter where we were meeting up - Morten and Gitte are just awesome people to be around and hang out with!  :)  It was an added benefit it happened to be in Oslo!

Gitte had a business obligation on Friday night, so Morten and I headed back to their apartment where he cooked up a delicious dinner.  I've been told he is a great cook over the years and finally got to experience it first hand.  YUM!  Gitte arrived home after a bit and we had a great time catching up.  They had already thought of some ways we could spend the weekend touring Oslo so we agreed we'd get a reasonably early start in the morning.  After breakfast we headed out for the Christmas Market on the grounds of a historical folk museum.  It was really interesting because the market stalls were sort of strewn about within the historic site and you could shop, eat and explore the old buildings all at once.  We spent the better part of the morning there before heading over to the Viking Ship Museum.  I was absolutely fascinated by the fact that Vikings were able to be at sea for months and months in ships like this.  They are basically exposed to the elements at all times.  There is no "cabin" or "below deck" area and the side walls are so low that you'd think a wave would sink the ship in a second.  The ships in the museum had all been excavated from burial sites and put on display.  Super, interesting.  After the museum we headed up the mountain to Holmenkollen for a traditional Norwegian lunch overlooking the city and fjords.  We had elk and beef tarare paired with some delicious red wine.  We made a quick departure after lunch because we wanted to get to the ski jump complex before sunset.  After all, it is winter in Oslo and sunset is around 3:30 pm.  We made our way a short distance across the mountain to the ski jump complex and took an elevator to the very top.  WOW!  I can't imagine how anyone has the guts to go off the ski jump with skis attached to their feet.  It was so high that I was a bit nervous just standing on the edge, let alone speeding down it with skis strapped to my feet at 65 mph.  Yikes!  There was a great museum inside the base of the complex and I learned all about the history of ski jumping and got to see architectural models of all the previous iterations of the ski jumps that existed in this location before this one was built in 2011 for the World Championships.  The models went back all the way 1892.  Impressive.  One of the things on Cille's list of "must-do" activities in Oslo was to enjoy a hotdog purchased from a street kiosk.  So, before we headed back to the apartment to warm up and enjoy a bit of rest before dinner we made a quick stop at a "Kiosk #7" which Gitte assured me had the absolute best hotdogs.  I am not sure I'd consider myself a connoisseur of hotdogs, but based on my limited experience - it was a damn fine hotdog.  Gitte suggested we make it an authentic kiosk experience by ordering a Solo (citrus soda) to go with our hotdogs which, of course, we did.  :)

Roof line of a traditional Nordic church in the historic folk museum

One of the ships at the Viking Ship Museum

The World Championship ski jump complex

Gitte and me at the top of the ski jump (Oslo and fjords in the background)

A hotdog and Solo from Kiosk #7 - Delicious!

Gitte and Morten chose a fantastic restaurant called Cru for dinner.  They'd been there many times before, including with Cille and Jonas so I was excited to try it!  We opted for the 5 course menu with wine pairings which was more food than any one person should eat, but good heavens was it delicious.  The atmosphere was fantastic, but the company was even better.  Thank goodness we had walked to the restaurant because we were in desperate need of walking off some of the calories on our way home.  We got back in time for a quick FaceTime with Cille, Jonas, Nora and Annika.  It was priceless to see them confused by why I was in the same room as Gitte and Morten.  Annika was at her best, showing off for her audience, singing and dancing. Nora took a few minutes to warm up, but was then very excited to show off her new truck.  We rented the movie, A Dangerous Method and called it a night!

We had a leisurely morning on Sunday (except for Morten who ran out to get some Christmas Bread at the local bakery for our breakfast).  Christmas Bread is loaded with raisins and figs and is utterly delicious.  We decided we'd walk the city center and surrounding area for the day and headed out to Vigeland Park.  This park was on Jonas's list of "must-do" activities in Oslo since all of the monuments within the park are made of granite - his favorite solid surface.  The park was really cool and the intricate carving on the granite was really impressive.  We walked the park and decided to take the tram down to the waterfront/port.  A brand new Modern Art Museum opened in this area about 3 months ago and Gitte and Morten hadn't been to it yet, so we decided to check it out.  The museum building was like a piece of art all on it's own.  It was extremely modern with a series of exterior art installations dotting the grounds.  They had some great pieces by Jeff Koons, Andy Warhol and Richard Price.  We stopped in a coffee house from a quick snack before a nice, meandering walk back to the apartment in the late afternoon.  I was shocked to see Morten dress for a run when we got back, but off he went for an hour-long run in the -7 degree temperatures.  That's dedication!  Before his run he began the preparation for dinner while Gitte and I lazed about on the couch watching winter sports and eating marzipan!  When he got back, he put the finishing touches on homemade meatballs, potatoes, carrots and cabbage.  Another delicious smorgasbord!  On Saturday Gitte and Morten purchased a Norwegian Christmas Cake at the Christmas Market so we capped off dinner with the cake and some ice cream.  :)  Morten had to leave very early in the morning for a business trip to Copenhagen, so we rented an early movie  before hitting the hay.  I was so sad to say my good-byes to him on Sunday night, but he wouldn't be back by the time I had to leave for the airport on Monday, so it had to be done.  Sad!  :(

Me at Vigeland Park with all that carved granite!

Christmas Cake covered in Norwegian flags!

Gitte had to work on Monday, so I planned out my day as a walking tour of the Opera House, Royal Palace, shopping district and City Hall (where the Nobel Prize was being awarded midday).  I left the apartment around 10:30 and was pleased that it wasn't particularly cold or windy.  I made my way to each of the sites on my list, grabbing a quick lunch at a cafe on Karl Johans Street along the way.  There was lots of activity in the city and the police presence at the Grand Hotel was more than evident, presumably because the Nobel Prize winners who are representing the EU were staying there.  I made my way over to the buildings that were blown up by the domestic terrorist in 2011 and read about the bombing and the effort to rebuild.  It was much more impactful to see it all in person, as the International news media didn't cover it in much detail after the initial day it happened.

Oslo City Hall (where Nobel Prize was awarded to the EU on Monday, 12/10/12)

Oslo Opera House

I arrived back at the apartment in time for a quick FaceTime with my parents before Gitte arrived home to take me to the Flight Train which I would ride to the airport.  My time in Oslo went by way too quickly and I wish I had decided to spend one more day there before moving onto Helsinki.  Oh well - next time!  I look forward to another visit in the summer time so we can kayak, hike and go out to Horten to see Cille and Gitte's parents.  It was a great visit and I can't end this post without saying one more time that Gitte and Morten are the best hosts (and tour guides) ever!  Thanks again!

Wehrheim, Germany

Jonas was kind enough to take me the airport for my flight to Frankfurt and this time around he took the direct route from my house to the International Terminal which was lovely (inside joke).  Unlike my departure for Nice, France earlier in the year, I was not fortunate enough to have a gate in the new F terminal and I had to catch a train to the old E terminal and walk about 3/4 of mile to my gate after checking-in.  I arrived just as they were announcing first class boarding and I walked right up and got on the plane.  While I had planned to get some rest on the 8 1/2 hour flight, there were so many good movie choices that I ended up staying awake the entire time.  We landed a bit early and I breezed through Customs as one of the first people off the plane.  I knew Megan wouldn't be there to pick me up right away since her son had "late" start to school that morning and our earlier arrival bumped up against that schedule.  I hit the ATM for some Euros, went to one of the benches in the arrivals area and continued with the great book I was reading, War Brides.  (I highly recommend it for those of you looking for a good Winter read!)  As if on cue, I looked at my watch at exactly 8:55 am and knew Megan would be pulling up to the curb any moment so I gathered my luggage and coat and headed outside.  Megan came running up to greet me and we headed off to Wehrheim.

Megan and I were neighbors in Winston-Salem, NC until she took a contract job working for Dell in Weisbaden, Germany in 1998.  To give her a proper send off, a group of us took a week long vacation to the Outer Banks the week before she left and I still remember all of us waving good-bye to her from the top deck of the house we rented when she had to leave a day early to catch her flight.  For some reason, it wasn't as sad as you'd expect because we all knew she was only planning on going for a year (2 at the most) and by going she was providing the rest of us a great (free) place to visit in Europe.  Off she went and as if she were a character in a romance novel, she went to a bar one night, met a nice Germany man (who offered her candy as his introduction), fell in love, got married, had 2 kids and never returned to the US except to visit.  Lucky for me, she and her husband, Christoph, are gracious hosts and welcome me into their home as often as I can fit a trip into my schedule.  Over the years we've enjoyed lots of visits, including a ski vacation in Switzerland aside from my normal visits to their house.

I love coming to Germany in the late Fall / early Winter because all of the Christmas Markets are in full swing and we can easily spend an entire day walking through them, shopping, enjoying delicious snacks and getting in the Christmas spirit.  This year was no exception.  Megan and I went to one Christmas Market on Saturday and another on Sunday - spending the entire day meandering our way up and down the vendor-lined streets.  While I didn't buy a single thing this year, I enjoyed every moment of catching up with Megan and taking in the sites.  We gathered ideas for things the kids could make their Dad for Christmas and showed them pictures of what we found when we got home.

Tree at the Hessenpark Christmas Market

The lifestyle of most people in Germany is quite different that that of most Americans and each time I come here I am reminded how much I enjoy it.  A few examples:  1) People aren't on a scheduled timetable.  In fact, we went to one store that I had hoped to return to later in the week only to be told that the store keeps irregular hours in the Winter.  If the weather was nice they might be open and if the weather wasn't nice they most certainly would be closed.  How great is that?  2) The main meal of the day is served at lunch time.  Rather than eating a large meal at night, right before bed they eat a large meal at midday so they can burn off the calories and energy in the afternoon/evening.  This seems so logical to me every time I visit.  3) Everyone is active.  There is very little TV watching or sitting around.  People are out and about doing things with their time.  I know, I know.  Plenty of Americans are active and doing things with their time, too.  It's still not the same vibe, however.  It's just the way of life here, the way of life for nearly everyone you encounter.

Megan had warned me that during the week we'd have very little time to do much by ourselves due to Bella (9) and Alex's (7) school schedule, sports practices and other activities and I was totally fine with that since my main purpose for visiting was to spend time with Megan and relax.  Even though we didn't fill our weekdays with glamorous activities like getting facials & massages while sipping champagne, we enjoyed running errands, grocery shopping, baking Christmas cookies, walking to/from town and around her neighborhood and most of all just talking to each other.

Bad Homburg Produce Market on Tuesday

Bella and Alex are growing up to be exceptional children and I continue to be impressed with their ability to jump from German to English seamlessly.  Megan speaks to them in English and Christoph in German which gives them plenty of practice with both languages.  I think they will be leaps and bounds ahead of their classmates when they are required to take English later on in their schooling.  :)

As I sit writing this, the cleaning woman is on the 2rd floor vacuuming, Megan is on the 1st floor giving English lessons to 2 boys from the neighborhood (which she does every Wednesdays), Alex is at soccer practice and the doorbell just rang indicating that Bella's carpool for gymnastics practice is here to pick her up.  It's a busy night at the Schwarz house and I am looking forward to dinner, perhaps a game of Monopoly and then putting my boots outside my bedroom door to see if Nikolaus fills them with candy and treats while I sleep.  (For those of you interested in learning more about the last part of that sentence, click here!)

I can't believe I am leaving for Oslo, Norway the day after tomorrow.  I am so excited to see Gitte and Morten, but sad to be leaving Germany already.  I'll let you know if Nikolaus brings me anything good in the next post.  Auf wiedersehen and gute nacht!