Osterferien – also known as SPRING BREAK!

So, in NRW, school gets out for two weeks for the Easter Holidays.  And mine were EPIC.  Susanna and I started out in Ljubljana, Slovenia, where I met up with my friend Chad, who went to Korbel with me.  Two of our other friends from Korbel, Alex (who I visited in Belgium and who came for Carnival) and Sarah (doing Peace Corps in Georgia), also happened to be there at the same time.  It was a party.  Then, we went on to Croatia, where Julia, my very best friend since our cradles were next to each other in day care, met up with us for a week-long exploration of the country.  After that, Susanna and I went on to Istanbul, Turkey.  Here’s a breakdown of the cities we visited:

• Thursday, March 26 – spent the night in the Belgrade, Serbia airport
• Friday, March 27 – Ljubljana, Slovenia
• Saturday, March 28 – Lake Bled, Slovenia
• Sunday, March 29 – Zagreb, Croatia
• Monday, March 30 – Zagreb, Croatia
• Tuesday, March 31 – Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia
• Wednesday, April 1 – Split, Croatia
• Thursday, April 2 – Dubrovnik, Croatia
• Friday, April 3 – Zagreb, Croatia
• Saturday, April 4 – Zagreb, Croatia
• Sunday, April 5 through Wednesday, April 8 – Istanbul, Turkey

Since our schedule was INSANE and it would take too long (and frankly, too much gushing) to describe everything, I’ll give you my highlights.

Biggest (and best) surprise: Slovenia and Zagreb
I expected to enjoy every part of my trip, but these two places are probably the most underhyped.  Slovenia is like a less-expensive version of Austria.  It is completely in the Alps, so everywhere you look you have a beautiful view of either architecture or mountains.  Ljubljana is a chill capital city that reminded me of a hipper, grungier version of Salzburg.  Lake Bled is one of the most beautiful place I’ve ever been.  It’s the only Balkan country that peacefully gained its independence, so the scars of war that touch the other Balkan states aren’t present here.
Croatia is known for its coastal cities, but Zagreb is definitely worth a visit.  The best way to describe it – super weird. quirky. eccentric.  We fit in well here.  There’s the Museum of Broken Relationships (must-see), a free mushroom museum (we had a lot of fun here), streets packed with cute (and definitely hipster) cafes, and lots of things that stopped working in the 18th or 19th century that no one ever fixed.  They also shoot a cannon from one of the central towers at noon every day.  If you can watch them shoot the cannon, watch them shoot the cannon.
Bonus: Air Serbia is one of the best airlines I’ve ever flown on.  You’re gonna have a connection in Belgrade, but that’s okay, because their airport is nice, and on every flight we got free food and beverages (that includes the booze).

Mushroom Museum – notice the edible suggestions

This is the side of a cute cafe. They gave us our checks in old romance novels #nextlevelhipster

Best dining experience: Zagreb, Split, and Istanbul
Authentic Croatian Food in Zagreb – We asked our hostel where to get Croatian food, and he told us to go here.  What to order?  MEAT.  We got three plates of meat that were SO GOOD. Sausage, steak with gravy, and ham and cheese that had been deep fried in a log.  Y’ALL.
Villa Spizia in Split – We found this great place on our Use-It map of Split (I love these maps. They’re made by locals and give great insider tips).  Not only was the food ah-mazing (they have daily specials as well as seaside staples such as a plate HEAPED with grilled sardines), our experience was one-of-a-kind.  A local guy (who had actually moved to Split from Brazil) bought us and an Austria couple liters of wine and provided us with entertainment until we were asked by the staff to leave, because they’d already been closed for 30 minutes.  Even without “Antonio’s gracious gift of wine”, this place would still be a highlight.  We got so much delicious food for a very cheap price.
Random Turkish dive in Asian Istanbul – Here’s the deal, when it’s mealtime in Istanbul, guys will stand outside restaurants and yell at you, asking you to come into their restaurant.  Most of this food will all be the same.  You will do better to get street food (Wet Burgers, especially those up around Taksim Square, will not ever ever disappoint you).  But our best culinary experience was when we took a Bosphorous cruise and spent some time on the Asian side.  We walked into a random place.  Pointed to what looked good (there was no English here) and had a hearty, flavorful, warm meal.  Off the beaten path was the best decision we made in this case.
Other Istanbul side notes – Turkish breakfast, when done right, is out of this world.  Turkish delight is also wonderful when it actually made in Turkey.

Croatian noms

Split Special – Lamb meatballs with [free] bread, chickpeas, and grilled sardines

Wet Burger on a Wet Night

Baklava, tea, and coffee

Best Hostels: Ljubljana, Zagreb, and Dubrovnik
Hostel Vrba – This hostel is quiet, clean, and close to the center.  Security is ok (no locks), but the workers are there all the time.  She even gave us house shoes when we showed up drenched from the rain and made us tea and coffee.
Swanky Mint Hostel – Great amenities.  The kitchen is brand new.  They give you a welcome shot at the bar.  Breakfast was good.  The staff is super awesome and friendly.  And the bar was packed with locals at night.
Old Town Hostel – This is probably the best hostel experience I’ve ever had.  We walked in, checked in, and were immediately invited to partake in the party happening in the kitchen.  The free tour of the city was great, the staff are like your friends, and everyone staying there was friendly and fun.  Dubrovnik was a nonstop party and good time because of this hostel.  Seriously fantastic.

Hat night at Old Town Hostel

General Favorites: Museums, Walls, Lakes, Waterfalls, and Tulips
Lake Bled, Slovenia. It’s a little resort town nestled in the Alps.  Monastery in the middle of a lake.  Rowboats.  Ice cream.  Blue skies and mountain vistas everywhere you look.  It was paradise.
Museum of Broken Relationships in Zagreb, Croatia.  It’s funny. It’s sad. It’s heartbreaking. It’s fantastic. The exhibits are submissions from all over the world, and they are changed out regularly.
Museum of Croatian War of Independence in Dubrovnik, Croatia.  You can do a two-hour hike to the top of the mountain or take the funicular. It’s a very powerful exhibit that explains a lot of the tensions that still exist in the Balkans. It was fascinating to see what the city of Dubrovnik went through.
Dubrovnik Old City Walls in Dubrovnik, Croatia. Even if you’re not a Game of Thrones fan, it’s fun to run around the ancient walls!
Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia.  Waterfalls everywhere.  If you’re up for a hike, this is one of the best places to take one.  We went on the last day of the off-season, so hours and bus connections to Split weren’t as good, but it was still a major highlight of the trip.
Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey.  I fell in love with this place when I studied it as a sophomore in college, and I’ve wanted to see it ever since.  Built first as a church and then converted into a mosque, it was designed to have maximum natural light coming in from the windows, and the effect is magical.  Both the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque are beautiful, overwhelming, and even better in person.
The Istanbul Tulip Festival, Emirgan Park, Istanbul, Turkey.  When most people think tulips, they think Holland.  But Istanbul is better.  For one, you aren’t there with millions of other people crowding to see the tulips.  Susana and I cruised the park in solitude.  For another thing, tulips originated in Turkey, so why not see them in their natural habitat?

Ljubljana, Slovenia

Lake Bled, Slovenia

Korbel Friends in Ljubljana

Plitvice Lakes

Dubrovnik from the Croatian War Museum

Hagia Sophia

Istanbul Tulip Festival

The only way it could’ve been better: more time  
Scroll back up and look at that schedule.  It was hectic.  It was crazy.  I was exhausted by the end.  Our itinerary honestly deserved a full month.  It was so much rush and travel.  But worth it.

Out and About: March 2015

March was non-stop.  I was totally kaputt by the time Spring Break rolled around, but it was totally worth it!

First, we celebrated Claire’s birthday by visiting the Mortiz Fiege Brewery in Bochum.  It. Was. Fantastic.  If you ever find yourself in Bochum, definitely check it out.  The tour is entirely in German, but you get lots of samples on the tour, and it is pretty educational.  Best part – at the end, you’re taken to the top of the Mortiz Fiege tower, where you are given FREE CURRYWURST and all the beer you can drink for an hour.  We made some new friends and had a really good time.

Currywurst!

The next weekend we made a trip down the Rhine River to the Drachenfels castle.  They were having a light festival of some sort, so the castle was all lit up and really cool to walk through.  On the hike up the mountain to the castle, we stopped and grabbed the last gluhwein of the year (it was delicious) and were able to take in some breathtaking views.  We also encountered a Nibelungenhalle that someone had built in honor of Richard Wagner.  His famous Ring opera focuses on the Rhine, and I’d taken a class on it in college so it was a fun little thing to see.

Majestic Stag at Drachenfels

March’s main event, however, was the Berlin Seminar!  We went to Berlin the weekend before to get some more sightseeing in.  I love Berlin because no matter how often you go, there’s always something new to see.  Our favorite was the Turkish market, where we ate THE ENTIRE TIME.  We split a lot of plates of flavorful, unbelievable food.  Seriously, it was a major highlight.  When you can go to a Turkish market in Germany, GO!

At this point I’d been tutoring in Herne, and my tutoree’s mom made me some German cheesecake to take with me. Perfect pre-Berlin breakfast!

One of the many Turkish market plates. I had to pay 50 cents extra for all the forks.

We found a Mexican restaurant! Claire can’t believe it!

Y’all remember Angry Chicken in Kreuzberg? We sure did, and you bet we went back, this time for some SUPER ANGRY wings.

This is the best doner I’ve ever had in my whole life. I have 35 pictures of it on my phone. I’m not kidding.  Pro tip: if you go at 3 on Thursday morning, you don’t have to wait in line.

The Seminar itself was really great – there were so many opportunities to see old friends – who I met way back in September before we were flung all over the country, at the Fulbright events in Hamburg and Munich – as well as meet new people (Fulbrighters from all over Europe were invited as well as Germans who would be going to America in the fall).  In addition to educational things where we could exchange ideas about what we’d been researching/teaching, there were several receptions and parties for all of us to cut loose.

After Berlin, instead of coming back to Bochum, I flew to Paris, where I met up with Elise (college friend who came to Germany for Christmas markets).  She had never been before, which meant I got to play tour guide and send her to some of my favorite places.  Highlights: duck and potatoes around the corner from our hostel in Montmartre (still dream of it), Shakespeare and Company Bookstore, the Rodin Museum, and shopping for wine in Rue Cler (the shop owner gave us awesome wine suggestions, and we finally settled on one that was within our price range and described as “amicable”).

I always knew Elise was a thinker

We then took a very interesting car-sharing ride to Arles, where our friend Carissa was staying with her French students.  They were on a Spring Break exchange, and the timing was too perfect.  We spent the night playing Settlers of Catan (we are cool) and catching up.  The next day, we went to Versailles with one of the French teachers and ate dinner (duck again – soooooo good y’all) at a host teacher’s house.  It was so unbelievably lovely, and so great to see them in Europe!  Our hosts in Arles were so welcoming and kind.  Sunday I took the train through Belgium back to Bochum, and had one more week of work before my epic Spring Break adventure.

Fulbright Winterball in Munich

Every year, the German Fulbright Alumni Association throws a masked ball for their members and current Fulbrighters in Germany (you might remember I went to their welcome meeting in Hamburg in November). So, the weekend after Carnival I loaded myself into a Flixbus (if you are travelling in Europe, this is a super duper cheap service – my trip to Munich, 115 euros by train, cost 19 euros.  Granted it was overnight and horrible, but still) on Thursday night and woke up the next morning at the ZOB bus station in Munich.  Since my parents were visiting Munich in July, I managed to convince them to let me try out the hotel they wanted to book, so instead of an expensive (Munich is great but the prices suck, y’all), grungy hostel, Susanna I stayed at a Holiday Inn!  It was luxury.  I met up with her, and we played around the city before meeting up with the rest of the Fulbrighters for the welcome get-together at my favorite Munich brewery – Augustiner.

Still regretting that this wasn’t a purchase

The day of the ball arrived, and I spent the morning with Susanna and Laura before going to my old stomping ground Holzkirchen for lunch.  I met up with Thorsten and Uta, host parents of my good friend Michael who have stayed in touch, and I had lunch with them at their home and then went for a walk towards Foesching (another small town near H.).  It was great to catch up with them and reminisce.  After a lovely afternoon, I took the S-Bahn back into Munich to get ready for the ball!  Susanna, Laura, and I popped the champagne and the beer (because Munich), did our hair, put on our fancy clothes, and headed toward the city center.  The ball was extremely fun – we danced the night away.  At one point there was a dancing master who gave us instructions (in German!) on how to dance traditionally (obviously a super-fun disaster), and there was a conga line to “Viva Colonia”.  Yikes.  Sunday we went to the Neue Pinakothek (an art museum in Munich – free on Sundays!) and then met up with a Fulbright friend who lives in Munich for coffee before catching a ride back to Bochum.

MIRROR SELFIES. Obviously a must-happen

Marina, Laura, me, and Susanna on the staircase leading up to the ball.

The Clueless American’s Guide to Carnival

(I had this post all written and ready to go in February — oops)

Very early on, I knew that moving to North Rhine Westphalia would mean that Carnival (or Karneval as ze Germans say) would be a big deal in my life.  However, Carnival remained this murky holiday that I knew was a big deal that I wanted to celebrate, but I really didn’t know what exactly that would mean or what it would entail.  I knew that people dressed up and drank a lot, there were parades, and it was at a Carnival party where Katharina Blum met a guy who turned out to be a bank robber or something like that in a Heinrich Boll novel I read for a German lit course once.  So, to shine a little more light on Carnival and also share my personal experiences, I will present it to you in a fun, FAQ fashion.

What exactly is Carnival?
Technically, it is a religious holiday which celebrates the beginning of Lent.  Think Mardi Gras, but in Germany it lasts a bit longer and might be even crazier (I haven’t experienced Mardi Gras in Louisiana, so I can’t give details).  In reality, it is a weekend-long (or longer) street party where people dress up in crazy costumes, sing ridiculous songs celebrating the Devil being out on the loose or simply the joys of their city during Carnival time.  There are no longer any rules, and apparently what happens at Carnival, stays at Carnival, never to be spoken of again.

When is it?
Here in NRW, Carnival officially kicks off in November, but no one really celebrates until Weiberfastnacht, which is the Thursday before Lent.  The celebration goes until Rosenmontag, the Monday before Ash Wednesday.  Although there are parades and events in between, Thursday and Monday are the two biggest days.  Weiberfastnacht celebrates LADIES (insert “woo”s here) and reminds us of a time when all the washerwomen were like, “Down with the patriarchy!  Men are oppressing us!” and decided to have a good time.  On this day, women can kiss whoever they please and if a man is wearing a tie, they can cut it right off.  Unfortunately I had to work on this day, so I missed the big cutting ties and kissing part, but we did make it to Dusseldorf for some of the street party that night.  Rosenmontag is a big parade day (the one in Cologne lasts 5 hours). In between parades have different themes (one very frightening, relating to the Devil being out and about, and others being about children or gay pride).

Where should I celebrate Carnival?
Cologne and Dusseldorf are the big two, but other cities like Mainz and Munich celebrate as well (although they call it Fasching in some places and the days are different).  As the name suggests, my state is divided into the Rhine region and Westphalia.  The Westphalians do not really celebrate AT ALL.  Most of my students and coworkers scoffed when I asked them about Carnival, saying it was too crazy and those Rhineland people are so emotional and over the top.  Which might be true, but trust me, there was not a big Carnival party in Bochum.

What do you do?
Dress up!  Dance!  Drink!  Sing!  Party!  Watch a parade! Say Alaaf or Hellau (depending on which city you’re in)!  Seriously, it’s mostly just going out, well-supplied with beer (this is Germany, so you can buy your own at the supermarket and then bring it into the festivities with you, carrying it around as you walk), and taking in all the costumes and sights and smells.  Most people also have parties in their own home or host private parties in bars that they frequent.  As we weren’t really in with anybody having one of those, we were relegated to the streets with the rest of the commoners, but it was still fun to run and jump around singing about whatever city we were in.  We also celebrated beforehand with champagne brunch (um, yum… and the leftovers made great train sustenance).

What’s the big deal?
Honestly, there are tons and tons of people wandering the streets of these cities, most of them extremely intoxicated and then later they all cram on the train, making things super hot and sweaty and sometimes vomity for you.  However, it was such a fun weekend!  Most of the teaching assistants from the region stayed around, and my friend Alex (my faithful readers will remember him from my Belgium adventures) came over for the weekend.  We all ate, drank, and were merry together.  I also got to meet up with my friend Emily, with whom I studied abroad in Holzkirchen and who’s now a teacher in Dusseldorf!  It’s really completely unlike anything else I’ve ever seen.  The parade was insane; the time and effort put into group costumes and wagons was ridiculous, and really the scale of the people consistently out was amazing.  While I don’t think I have the energy that would help me to enjoy it every year, I had a ton of fun and I’m glad I got the Carnival experience in big cities like Cologne and Dusseldorf!

The ETA gang at the Rosenmontag Parade in Cologne

Alex and I in Cologne on Saturday night – please appreciate the awesome Primark onesies

Carnival parade floats are usually themed based around social or political commentary. This one was a critique on how we use social media.

Here’s a politically-themed float. It’s called the “Putinator”.

Prime parade spot. These guys had a party in their apartment, and then watched the parade from their windows.

These cuties were standing across from us during the parade. The bags are for the candy and flowers that get thrown at you during the parade!

En realidad no hablo español, solamente me gusta la comida

I arrived back in Germany after my weekend in Belgium prepared to chill for a couple of weeks.  Carnival was coming up, to be followed by the Fulbright Winterball in Munich, the Fulbright Berlin Conference in March, meeting up with a couple of my friends from college in France, and then the extravaganza that will be Spring Break (I’m so excited bout it, y’all!).  All these things would require not only energy, but also money, so I was ready to save up.  But then my friend Susanna (y’all know all about her by now and her last minute trip-enabling schemes) was like, my cousin is in a choir and they’re performing in Malaga this weekend, WANNA GO?!? Like an idiot, I agonized over this decision for about 12 hours (honestly all the time I had, because we had to book flights and stuff for like, four days from then.  Ultimately, I ended up going, and trust me it was not a mistake.

The view from my kitchen the day we left for Spain. You can imagine how awesome my decision to go to the Mediterranean looked after waking up to this.

We arrived in Malaga and immediately I felt like the warm, dry air was sweeping cobwebs out of my brain.  Absolutely amazing.  Susanna and I set out for some grub and ate our first tapas of the trip.  After snacking, we explored the old town a bit and went down to the beach before meeting up with her cousin and the choir.

One of my favorites. The Med at sunset.

We went on a little tour of the old town with the choir, and then we headed to eat!  Rachel, a friend from college, studied abroad in Malaga and recommended we try El Pimpi, which is probably the most famous restaurant in all of Malaga and moderately priced.  Usually, we stick to a backpacker’s budget, but this splurge wasn’t even that much (4 people split a bottle of wine, 1 salad, and 3 large tapas and it was about 20 euro per person).  SO GOOD Y’ALL.

El Pimpi Tapas: the Pimpi Platter (Pepper, cured ham & fried egg, chorizo, croquettes, Iberian pork), fried Rosada pieces, and oxtail with pepper and creamed potatoes. WE DON’T MESS AROUND.

After that we grabbed a couple more bottles of Malaga wine and headed down to the beach.  We spent the rest of the night sitting on the beach, watching the waves, and chatting.

Beachin’. Is this January or July? I don’t know.

We began the next day at the Picasso Museum.  Picasso was born in Malaga, and they are super proud of him (although he left when he was like 19 and never went back).  The museum is small and doesn’t have any big works, but I thought it was very well done for what they had and well worth the trip.  We grabbed some hot tea at a place near the cathedral (if you’re in this area of Spain definitely try their tea – it has Arabian influences from the Caliphate that ruled there in the Middle Ages and it’s absolutely amazing).  Afterwards, we luckily stumbled upon El Piyayo and ordered plates of paella for only 6 euro!  and it was muy delicioso!  So delicioso that Susanna at lunch there again on Sunday after mass at the cathedral.  On Saturday we also tried it with a weird soup that S’s cousin and friends said they’d had everywhere they went in Spain.  It was cold, made of tomatoes, bread, and some more stuff that I couldn’t identify.  It was very strange.

Yummy paella and weird cold tomato bread soup.

After we were filled with seafood and carbs, we climbed up the hill to spend the afternoon climbing around two Arab fortresses, Castillo de Gibralfaro and Alcazaba.  With student IDs, entrance was only 60 cents each.  Talk about a bargain!

Malaga’s cathedral peeking out over the castle walls.

Costa del Sol.

After roaming around the castles, we went to the choir concert at the Church of the Martyrs, which was just around the corner from the hostel.  Dinner, drinks, and then I went to bed early so Susanna could catch up some more with her cousin.  She and the choir were flying out of Malaga Sunday morning, so the next day Susanna and I had all to ourselves.

We started it off with mass in the cathedral, which made use of the HUGE organ.  It was quite beautiful.  As I said before, we went back to El Piyayo for more paella and then spent the afternoon on the beach.  It was a bit chilly, but I wasn’t complaining.  That much sun on my face did me a whole lot of good!

Our last cultural excursion was to Carmen Thyssen Museum, which focuses on Spanish art from the 17th-19th centuries.  Definitely things I had never seen before, and Susanna and I had probably way too much fun going through this museum.

Last stop was dinner, and as with all of our meals, it was unbelievably delicous.  A log of fried ham and cheese, more paella, and grilled sardines.  It was delicious!  And cheap!  You guys, Spanish food is wonderful.

Our food this night stared at us a lot.

The restaurant’s front window. Bonita, no?

Sardines. I was skeptical at first, but am now a believer.