the tragedy of lake mead

We are making our way from Los Angeles to Chicago right now and we've decided to take a few detours and see the sights. One of which was supposed to be the man-made wonder that is Lake Mead Recreation Park. Unfortunately, we drove all the way down the boat launch and still weren't in the water, even though the GPS had us placed squarely in the blue.

Global warming at work I suppose, or perhaps just mankinds folly in thinking that they can divert a river and make it into a lake all in the middle of the desert. And we wonder why we have ecological problems throughout this country. Next thing you know, they're going to want to divert all of the fresh water from Lake Michigan to the water starved metropolises out West. I say NO! go live somewhere that water doesn't evaporate year round.

That's my thought anyway. Well, onto Zion National Park.

The Return

I am officially back in Chicago. And the only word for how I'm feeling right now is surreal. I'd like to go back to Germany please. Or at least go on vacation. Somehow I don't think my three week trip to El Salvador is going to come soon enough.

Last Day of Work

Well, that's that. Yesterday I finished up with work and am just about to embark on the madness of packing up my life here in Frankfurt. It's hard to believe that it's all over actually. I have one week of packing madness here and then many weeks of unpacking madness complimented by my dad's own unique brand of insanity. Here's hoping I stay sane through it all.

It's been a remarkable experience here in Frankfurt. In fact, I enjoyed this job more in the last year and a half than I have in a very long time. It's definitely due in no small part to the people that I had the opportunity to work with. Right to the end they managed to exceed all of my expectations whether it was taking extra time to be thoughtful about my review and how I could build on my experiences to giving me a leaving do that was more than almost anything I could have hoped for complete with my very own Schultutte (first day of school dealy) and a map where I could pin all of my travels in the last year.

More than anything, I feel like I'm leaving this job, this office actually, with new friends that I'll have drifting in and out of my life for a long, long time. I'm very lucky that way.

So, onto the packing madness I suppose.

Lost in the UK: Surfing Devon

Ever have one of those trips where even if the conditions aren't exactly perfect it's still fantastic? This would be one of those trips. I have to say, despite the forecast, the waves are pretty crap. With my luck they'll smooth out on Monday when I'm back in Frankfurt for my VERY LAST DAY. Whoohoo!

Anyhow, crappy waves aside, the trip is pretty fantastic. Great girls, great food. Even some good music. We heard a band on Friday night called Scaramoose. Totally local, and with a kind of Jack Johnson/Ben Harper sound to them.

So it's been such a trip to far. I arrived on Thursday, Kerry gave me ENDLESS crap about my board bag. Which is a lovely board bag, if you have 3 boards which I do not. Anyway, we manhandled the sucker into the car and headed to her house. Our 5am start time didn't pan out quite how we had hoped, but we still managed to get onto the road by about 6am and we missed ALL Of the Glastonbury traffic somehow and even squeezed in a quick session before the other girls arrived.

It has been incredibly windy so far. So bad in fact that the other girls tried to put up their tent and one of the tent poles BROKE! Can you believe it? Crap tent if you ask me, but anyway, they've managed to swing themselves a camper that has heat and a real shower in it so I suppose we're making out well in the end. Kerry and I are actually camping which is great. Wake up to the birds calling and the waves breaking. And when you step outside the tent you can do a surf check right on Croyde Bay right then and there. Absolutely lovely. And there are two other breaks that we've been surfing as well, Putsborough Sands and Saunton Beach. The surf culture here in North Devon is truly amazing. There are surf boards and surf shops everywhere. When picturing the dream world of surfing, it's always been SoCal or Hawaii that really pop into my head, but man are they hardcore here. And they have so many places to go. Incredible.

Anyhow, I'm so glad I was able to squeeze this in before I leave Europe. Hopefully I'll be able to find more opportunities to travel with her even when I'm back in the States. . . .

Euro Cup 2008: Germany wins!!!

Amazing! Germany has won a spot in the Euro cup finals. I can't believe it! Not that they played particularly well against Turkey, but man! They won!! There are car horns going off everywhere tonight it's like the entire city has come out to celebrate!

Go Deutschland!

Already missing Frankfurt

I haven't even left the city yet and somehow I already miss it. I can't believe that I'm only a few weeks away from leaving Germany and heading back to the States for grad school. I know that it's the right decision, but somehow I just can't get excited about giving up my life here and going back to school.

There's something about leaving a city just when you start getting to know it and you start building a life there that actually feels like it could be yours. Frankfurt finally began to feel like a home to me after a little less than a year and a half. Good friends, an incredible boyfriend, and a world of experiences that have changed how I view the world. I finally know where to find the best produce in the farmers markets, the waiters at my favorite Italian spot know me by name and pour me a glass of good wine as soon as I walk in the door to order carry-out after a long day at work, I have found my favorite cafe to sit and read in. And my little apartment feels like home.

It's a hard moment to pick up again and know that I have to start all over again back in a city that was home for so many years. Somehow it feels like going backwards even though I know that I'm starting an entirely new phase of my life.

I am forever grateful to have had this experience and I know that somehow, Frankfurt will always feel a little like home to me, even though I only had the chance to be here for the briefest amount of time.

Euro Cup 2008: Germany beats Portugal!!

Oh my god! Germany has beat Portugal! We're on to the semi-finals now! Euro Cup here we come!

Germany Wins!

Germany has beat Austria! It was a kind of dicey game, a little underhanded on our part, but we beat Austria and are moving onto play Portugal next. It's incredible. I'm so glad I can be here for the excitement of it all. I love cheering on my adopted homeland.

Sorry Nick, I'm just not ready to root for Austria yet. . . .

Whirlwind Chicago Weekends and Frankfurt Springs

So last weekend I hopped a plane for a 48 hour turnaround in Chicago to try and find an apartment now that I've officially committed to going back to Chicago for grad school. It was more than a whirlwind I have to say, I viewed close to 20 apartments in less than 48 hours before getting back on a plane to Frankfurt. But I think the trip was a success as I believe I have found a place I could happily live in for the next 2 years or so. And! I've found a little piece of my german home not too far from the apartment I'm hoping to sign on. Yup, so here's a little toast to my return to Chicago. I'll have to lift a glass at Prost once I get back there.

Anyhow, I arrived back in Frankfurt, mercifully not feeling too much jetlag and got back to my lovely abode just in time to miss being struck on the head by a massive thunderstorm complete with hail! I swear I have had the strangest weather since arriving in Frankfurt. No snow all winter until about May, and now that it's pretty much Summertime we're getting heat waves followed by huge thunderstorms complete with hailstones. And it had been so hot when I got home that I opened all of the windows, so I ended up with little hailstones melting all over the apartment. Strange days.

Lost in Belgium: Surfing in Oostende

After traipsing around Brugge for a few hours, Nick and I decided on a whim to head up to the coast and dip our toes into the North Sea in a beachside town called Oostende. Immediately when we pulled into the center of town it was clear that this place was a summer tourist beach destination, probably in the order of say the Jersey shore or Rehobeth beach in Delaware. But because it's only the end of May, it was still pretty quiet.

We got down to the shore and my first thought was, 'Why didn't I bring Kyma!' That would be my surfboard, yes, Big Red actually has a name. Anyway, the waves weren't amazing, but they were there and just as I was starting to wonder if anyone surfed in this town, Nick looked over at this van parked along the boardwalk and said to me "Hey, do you think those guys are surfers?" They were pulling on wetsuits, so my bed was yes. And sure enough about 30 minutes later, there was a solid handful of guys out in the water, leaving me on the short to wade up to my ankles and get all windblown. Sad, but honestly if I had known you could surf up there, I'd have probably been making weekend trips there for the last two months. Oh well, next time I suppose. First I have to learn to read the weather charts so I can actually make it worthwhile. Nice to know there's surfable water nearby though.

Oh, and Oostende was actually quite cute, even though it was touristy. After he managed to drag me away from the surfers, we walked down near the harbor and were met with the site of fish stand upon fish stand upon fish stand. Most of them were selling a combination fresh fish, smoked fish and some kind of fish stew usually. I walked away with a lightly pickled raw herring and a smoked herring that I thought might be kind of like the smoked whitefish I love having with my dad at home. (FYI: It turned out to be quite tasty, but also completely whole. I've never had to clean out a smoked fish before but this one, well lets just say that in addition to de-boning it, I also had to clean out the innards)

We ended up having an amazing meal of mussels before we left. I mean, I don't think it's possible to go to Belgium and not has the trifecta of foods it's known for: Mussels, Beer and Waffles. Oh and chocolate. I can't forget chocolate. Because I love chocolate almost as much as I love little critters that live in shells for eating.

Lost in Europe: Eurovision 2008

So last night, I had the joy of experiencing Eurovision 2008. For those American types who like me have no idea what this is, allow me to explain. Eurovision is a multinational talent music contest conducted every year with representatives from a series of countries throughout Europe, Russia and (strangely) Israel. Basically, it's like American Idol for the European continent. However it only takes place on one night. So all these countries hold their preliminary contests locally (although some apparently just pluck a group out of the ether) and the on a single night, they broadcast the performances throughout Europe. Each country is then allowed to vote (but they can't vote for their own country) and a winner is named.

We watched a broadcast of the contest commentated thstrange talent contest commentated by a very funny British newscaster, who filled the gaps between performances with snarky commentary on the trend of Eastern Block countries only voting for each other, thus the ongoing run Eastern European countries coming out tops. In the meantime I was treated to performances featuring strange Pirates of the Caribbean singing, overly plastic surgeried Swedish performers, Retro Frenchmen and a very strange Spanish man who was truly terrible. Most of the songs were in English, but a few groups bucked the trend by singing in their native language. At the end of the performances, the lines are opened up and people from all the participating countries are allowed to vote for 30 minutes before the winner is finally announced.

At the end of it all, the winner is Russian singer Dima Bilan who I believed my lovely commentator referred to as Michael Flatley on rollerskates.

Lost in Portugal: Sights around Lisboa

So, I neglected to actually write more posts while I was in Lisbon, therefore I don't really have a place to put these as my earlier posts were rather random and too specific, but I have to say that I loved Lisbon as a city, it is quite beautiful with some wonderful architecture that really reflects the different cultural groups that have lived in and shaped the city.

Even though most of the weekend was cool, rainy and grey, I adored wandering through the steep, narrow city streets. In fact, the cool, rainy weather combined with the replica Golden Gate Bridge over the harbor and the steep, narrow streets climbing up the hillside just made Lisbon feel that much more like San Francisco. Although San Fran feels more upscale in many ways.

We saw quite a bit of the city and with the less than favorable weather even made it to the Lisboa Oceanario which has a phenomenal saltwater tank as its centerpiece, including perhaps the coolest fish ever, the Mola Mola, or Ocean Sunfish, a gigantic saltwater fish that can grow up to 11ft long and enjoys drifting on its side while the currents carry it through the ocean. Plus a fair number of sharks and barracudas floating around inside.

We hit most of the big sites: St. Jorge's Castle, Belém where we saw the Belém Tower and Jerónimos Monastery (both UNESCO World Heritage sites), the Chiado shopping district (although this time I refrained from tragging Nick through another shopping marathon), the Bairro Alto, and even the Jardim Botanico, which was slightly disappointing after the immensity of Berlin's Tiergarten. That combined with all the walking around the city gave us a pretty good sense of things although I can definitely see coming back for a longer stay. Plus perhaps a bit more time on the coast . . . gotta work on my timing on the waves after all.

Lost in Portugal: Lisboa Graffiti

Saw a load of cool graffiti in Lisbon last weekend. Lots of it was stencil work with some freehand stuff, but the stencil stuff was so prevalent it made me wonder if it might be a single artist.

Lost in Portugal: Pastel de Belém

So one of the things that we were told was an absolute, must try food in Lisbon was the Pastéis de Belém, a small egg cream tart in puff pastry. According to local lore, the recipe for this particular pastry cream is a closely held secret and only three people in Belém know the recipe, passing it down from one generation to the next as each retires. Jamie Oliver apparently tried to recreate the recipe without success, he just wasn't able to replicate the silky texture of the cream.

So with that knowledge in hand, we headed to what is supposedly the birthdplace of this tasty, creamy little tartlet, Antiga Fábrica de Pastéis de Belém. And taste, and taste, and taste we did. Tiny, silky smooth tarts, still warm from the oven. Flaky and tender but still sturdy as you bit into it so that you didn't end up with a lapfull of puff pastry shreds.

We purchased two dozen with the intention of bringing them home for our co-workers, but unfortunately the pastries were left behind as an unintentional gift for our new friends at the Surf Castle. I guess we'll have to return to Lisbon to partake in the joy again.

Lost in Portugal: Sintra Views

Sintra is this beautiful little village in Portugal, a UNESCO World Heritage site in fact (I seem to be racking up quite a few of these lately), that we stopped in before heading out to the coast for my surf experience.

We didn't have nearly as much time as we would have liked to have in the town so we didn't get to see the summer palace, but we did hike up to the Moorish Castle (ruins actually) which took a good hour. The view was completely worth the time and effort (we foolishly hiked along a road instead of the trail from the village, a bit hairy now and then when the locals would come barreling around the tight, steep turns).

The castle wall was supported from below by enormous granite (?) boulders that must have been carried through the landscape by glaciers during the ice age. From the topmost part of the castle wall you could see all the way down the coastline, even to Ericeira an incredibly famous surf spot. Unfortunately I couldn't tell what the waves were like from there, but we didn't go there anyway so it didn't really matter. Next time, when I'm actually better at this crazy sport I've picked up.

Lost in Portugal: Surf Castle

So it's hard to fly all the way to Portugal, which has some of the best surfing in Europe along the coast, and not at least attempt to get in the water for a few sessions. Unfortunately this entire weekend was massively blown-out with super high winds, mostly coming on-shore Saturday and Sunday. But today, today it is better. After a grey start this morning, we headed out from Sintra to Peniche so I could once again tempt fate in the water.

I had heard about this place in Portugal called the Surf Castle from a couple I met in Famara in March. So when I knew I was heading to Lisbon, I looked them up and got in touch to see if I could get a local heads up on the wave conditions and also maybe score a lesson. Still lots to learn after all.

The owner, Joao, was incredibly helpful, besides giving me the insider update on the conditions (which led to me NOT dragging my board along with us this weekend), he also helped me set up a session with an instructor named Pedro. All in all, a pretty sweet afternoon although I was only able to get a single, hour and a half long session in and the water is sooo much colder than it was in Famara. Once you start moving though you don't really notice, besides it's going to be a lot colder in Chicago this winter. Yes, if you look very closely at that little black dot in this picture, that is me, actually surfing. Albeit not as well as I would have liked . . .

The waves were small, but Pedro said it was the glassiest day they had all weekend, and besides I wasn't complaining, it's not like I can afford to be picky after all.Anyway, even a short session is good for me. The more time in the water the better I say! Gotta work on my timing paddling into the waves though. Practice makes perfect!

So a funny bit of the day actually took place over a late afternoon snack that Nick and I had with Pedro and his girlfriend. They asked me how I had found out about the the Surf Castle, as I related my Lanzarote story, talking about this kind of crazy Italian guy and his Irish girlfriend, they said, "You know Allie and Jenny? They're hysterical. They're coming back in September."

Not that I was really that surprised that they remembered those two, but Pedro even commented on Jenny's board, which isn't really her board since Allie rides it ALL the time. But anyway, love the small world connections.

Lost in Portugal: Coffee Days

Much to Nick's delight we have discovered that Lisbon has quite the coffee culture. In fact, I think ordering coffee in Lisbon might almost be a complicated as ordering coffee in Vienna. A fact Nick found highly reassuring. That and the coffee tastes sooo good. Strong, but not burnt, deep roasts that can be served any number of ways if you just know how to ask for it. Not that we managed to figure that out in three days, but it was good nonetheless. Wish I had pictures, but sadly I have none.

Here is my quick Lisboa coffee primer, courtesy of my failed attemps and TimeOut Lisbon:

For Milky Coffee in a glass, ask for um Galao, basically like a latte but if you add the words Maquina, you should get coffee that's fresh from the machine as opposed to coming from the carafe of the stuff that's been sitting around for a while getting burnt

For a Cappucino like drink ask for uma Meia da leite (half milk).

For Espresso, ask for Bica but ask for um cafe or um duplo if you'd like a double shot.

For the really strong stuff, ask for uma Italiana, a tiny cup of sludgy coffee essence.

Granted, they don't take it quite to the levels of the Viennese, but I have no doubt that if you really know the city, one would find that the subtleties are just as extensive when you know your way around.

Lost in Portugal: Capoeira in the Street

We started the morning wandering through the streets down towards the water and the main square. As we walked down that way, pounding drums and chanting started to fill the causeway between the buildings. I always love street musicians so we made our way towards the crowd and the drumming to find the delightful spectacle of a Capoeira school doing a demonstration with the instructors and their students.

We stood and watched while the teachers and their students wove a dance of martial arts and gymnastics. It was great. I've always wanted to learn a martial art, perhaps this should be my next sport . . .

Lost in Portugal: Literally lost

This may be the worst marked subway station ever. It took us asking directions three times before we were able to locate it, and getting to it meant walking over a highway and through a roundabout. Not so convenient. . .

lost in Portugal: Caracois, caracois

OK, we arrived in Lisbon. It was kind of cold and rainy and I was STARVING! Big shock there I'm sure.

So Nick and I went wandering around our hotel to see what we could find to eat. We wandered into this tiny little storefront and ordered a couple of sandwiches. I happened to see two women behind us eating what looked like a plate of teeny, tiny escargot. So when the server came over I said "I'd like a small plate of those, please."

He looked at me, said "Caracois?"

And I said, yes, what those girls are having. With smile he returned about 5 minutes later with a steaming, garlicky pile of tiny little snails, complete with tiny, little, smiling snail heads that had antennae.

Now I'm a pretty adventurous eater, but for just a moment even I paused. But after a stern, internal pep talk, I dug in with my toothpick while Nick looked on rather horrified. Until he tried them. And boy were they tasty. As long as you can get over the little heads, these suckers are really, really good. Nick only made it through four, but I devoured a good plateful almost before I was full.

Although not for the squeamish, I highly recommend them if you happen to be in Portugal and they're available.

Lost in Germany: The Lancia Musa and Me

Ok, so I cannot lie, when traffic moves there is nothing more fun than cruising down the Autobahn going 180km/hr. Even in a Lancia Musa.
What is a Lancia Musa you might ask? Perhaps the crappiest most unaerodynamic vehicle I have ever had the good fortune to hop behind the wheel of. Honestly, this thing uses over 14 liters of gas per 100km when you're going 80. Awful.

But still fun to drive the Autobahn even with a less than spectacular car. I am super tempted to find a really nice car, like say a Porsche or an Audi A8 or (this one's for you Dad) one of the new Maserati coupes to take out for a spin for a day. You know, see what it's really like to drive these roads in an actual car.

Now however I am sitting in a 20km traffic jam only 100km from Frankfurt. Whoever said driving the Autobahn is always a speed adventure has clearly never driven thru Germany on a holiday weekend. Here's hoping we make it home by midnight, which would make a supposedly 4. 5 hour drive into an 8+ hour drive . . .

Lost in Germany: Beautiful Berlin

Well, we managed to see a fair amount of Berlin in what really amounted to a long day and a half in the city.

In no particular order, here's a quick rundown on things I think are 'must sees' in the city:

Reichstag
The Reichstag building is the home of the German Parliament and offers a beautiful view over the city and the government quarter. From here you can actually see the top of Gehry's building in the nearby Pariser Platz and well as take in the expansive green of the Tiergarten that extends through the city.


Checkpoint Charlie
For those who haven't been before, I definitely recommend seeing Checkpoint Charlie. There's nothing real left there now that the Wall has been taken down, but the collection of posters around the sight detailing the history of the wall is fascinating and I definitely would recommend stopping by Cafe Adler which actually is the only original piece left from the pre-Fall days.

Unter den Linden
A lovely boulevard to walk along on your way to the Brandenburger Tor. It was named for the Linden trees that line the pedestrian pathway.

Bebel Platz
Located along Unter den Linden, Bebel Platz is probably most well-known for being the site of the infamous Nazi book burning.

Humboldt Universität
Berlin's oldest university, located along Unter den Linden. It was from Humbolt University's library that the Nazi youth took some 20,000 books and burned them on the Bebel Platz.

Brandenburger Tor and Pariser Platz
Definitely one of the most recognizable symbols of Germany, the Brandenburger Tor was builtin 1791 and modelled on the entrance to the Acropolis in Athens. The Tor sustained heavy damage during World War II and was restored in the 1950s. After the Berlin Wall was erected in 1961, the Brandenburg Gate was inaccessible to the citizens of both Germanys and was ultimately regarded as the symbol of Cold War divisions.

Pariser Platz sits in front of the Tor and is home to an inordinate number of banks including the Deutsche Bank Frank Gehry Building.

Tiergarten
A fantastic garden spread through the center of the city, the Tiergarten reminds me a bit of Central Park, but it seems much bigger. In one of the meadows is a grouping of 7 large stones, part of an artistic installation called the Global Stone Project.

Schloss Charlottenburg
Schloss Charlottenburg was the summer home of the German ruling family. They have the most spectacular gardens there and even though it's a bit further out of the city, I highly recommend visiting. The palace itself is absolutely beautiful.

Nikolaikirche
Berlin's oldest church is located quite near to the Berliner Dom and also the Museumsinsel. Apparently, there's also quite a nice exhibit inside, but we didn't have time to see it.

Museumsinsel
A UNESCO World Heritage site, a host of museums are housed on this tiny island in the city as well as the Berliner Dom. We didn't bother heading inside of any of the museums, instead we camped out along the river and basked in the sun enjoying prosecco and apfelstrüdel. Very tasty.

Berliner Dom
A really gorgeous Gothic church. After climbing up a significant number of steps, you are rewarded with a wonderful view out over the city of Berlin. Definitely worth the hike to the top. That and there is a great exhibit with the scale models they used for reconstruction purposes while they repaired the damage caused by a firebomb during WWII.

Gendarmenmarkt
Considered one of Europe's most beautiful city squares, you can enjoy the view the Deutscher Dom, the Fransösicher Dom and the Konzerthaus.

Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church
Just a very cool looking church in the middle of Breitscheidplatz, also where I had enjoyed a tasty plate of Berlin's contribution to fastfood, Currywurst. Now keep in mind that currywurst is basically, hot dogs covered in warm ketchup and doused with curry powder. Strange but still tasty, check out this "authentic" recipe here.

Lost in Spain: Sights of Barcelona

Had a few photos I just didn't know where to put. So here are a few of the sights I saw while we traipsed across the city over the weekend.

Lost in Spain: Sardanes in Squares

As we were walking around today enjoying our last hours in Barcelona, we kept coming across circles of older folk dancing outside of the Cathedral near La Rambla. I didn't take any pictures of this unfortunately, but I found this one online.

It was so sweet to watch, these groups of men and women, clasping hands and dancing what was clearly a traditional dance around piles of their bags. We saw a group of teenagers start doing what all teenagers do: mocking tradition. Until an older man, stepped forward and chastised them quite strongly. It was great, the kids just picked up their bags and suddenly became respectful again.

Anyway, I thought for sure it must be some kind of demonstration or special event, so when we got back to the hotel I asked guest reception what was going on. The woman at the front desk said that these dances, Sardanes, happen almost every weekend on Sundays. People will just spontaneously begin dancing to the music in the squares. In fact, all children in Catalan are taught these dances in school, although most of the kids think they're kind of silly.

What a fantastic tradition though. I love that people just dance in the streets here. I quite like this city.

Lost in Spain: Sleepy Park Afternoons

We've had our fill of art for the day, and now it's time for a nap. We've found a wonderful park up here on the hill where the Miro Museum is located. According to my Lonely Planet guidebook, this is supposed to be a superb place for napping. The park is called Jardins de Mossen Cinto de Verdaguer. I highly recommend a summer's day nap under the trees here. It's beautiful.

Lost in Spain: Miró

So today, we went up the hillside on the funicular subway to visit the Miró Foundation museum. I have to be honest, I didn't really know much about Miro before we went up there, but it was something Nick really wanted to see, and I do love learning more about art.

It was a great museum I have to say. I've seen some Miro pieces before, but to see them all collected together was pretty imposing. If it had been a few decades later I might have thought the man was doing some pretty serious drugs when he was painting.

Anyway, we're off tomorrow to see the Picasso Museum which I'm really excited about. Apparently the museum takes you through a progressive exhibit that starts with Picasso's early training and leads you all the way through the last of his paintings. I'm so curious to see how he developed his style over the years.

Must say, the art side of things is kind of a nice counterpoint to all of the culinary emphasis this trip has had . . . . also better for my waistline.

Lost in Spain: Shop til ya drop

Poor Nick. I've dragged him around all day hunting for shoes in my size (they grow'em too big in Germany so I can never find shoes for my itty-bitty feet). On my hunt though I did stumble by this rather fabulous clothing store called Tomate. They deal with about 60 designers living and working throughout Spain. Some very cool stuff. If you happen to be in town, I highly recommend checking them out.

Tomate

Located at:
Bayns Nous, 22
Barcelona, Spain
Phone: 93-3013788

and also at:
Capellans, 3
Barcelona, Spain
Phone: 93-3043665

website: www.tomate-bcn.com

Lost in Spain: Market Breakfasts

So to continue our culinary binge this weekend, I dragged Nick over to La Boqueria, which is one of the biggest permanent produce markets in Europe. They actually have a partnership with London's Borough market (although from what I've read La Boqueria is much bigger even if the market in London is older).

the market. I had a super lovely cafe con leche and some churrosTo avoid the other tourist types, we went over early and got a bit of something to eat to build up the strength to wander through to top it off. Can't really go wrong with fried dough and coffee in the morning. Mmmm. . . .

What a market though, I mean talk about visual, sensorial overload. Between the rainbows of fruit and the juices they were being squeezed into and the gleaming, ice pack piles of fish, I could hardly decide where I should be looking. Of course there were oodles of stands selling the ubiquitous Jamon Iberico. Newly educated after our oh so satisfying meal at Jamonisimo our scrutiny of the offers was intense. Not that we had any chance of picking up a leg of ham to bring home, but there was definitely a very vigorous discussion between Nick and I on whether or not we could swing it.

I'm sad to say that I did not win out in this particular discussion. I did however manage to convince Nick to purchase almost a case of wine to haul back in my suitcase.

Lost in Spain: Gospel Subways

OK, how random is this? Gospel singers from the Institut de Gospel in the subway? Who doesn't love that about a city!

Lost in Spain: Jamonisimo, the best ham I've ever had

So today for lunch, Nick and I tracked down another restaurant recommendation courtesy of Anthony Bourdain's "Decoding Ferran Adria" documentary: Jamonisimo.

Birgit and John attempted the same on Tuesday before we all met up for the El Bulli Extravaganza with no success. So Nick and I were a little nervous that we might also end up with nothing to show for our efforts. Fortunately we found success.

And let me tell you, it was worth the tracking and blackberry searching and wrong turns down streets with no signage. This was by far the most incredible cured pork product I have ever had the pleasure of consuming.

So for those who are not Jamon Iberico connoisseurs, there are three different grades of Jamon Iberico. The highest grade is a type of Jamon Iberico labeled with the phrase "de bellota." Basically this indicates that these lucky swine were fed a diet of acorns exclusively which gives the meat and the fat an especially buttery texture.

After a bit of finagling over the menus (only available in either Spanish or Catalan, clearly this is a place only locals go usually), we managed to communicate to our lovely if non-English speaking store clerk that we wanted to try the sampling of the house Jamon, an animal raised "de bellota" in the Salamonca region of Spain. The selection of meats comes from three different parts of the cured ham leg, each with it's own special texture and taste.

Over a couple of glasses of cava, we slowly consumed the ham, bite by mindblowingly flavorful bite. The fat on the ham slices was practically melting at room temperature. Can I say divine? I think all ham will somehow seem pedestrian after this . . . A few bites of cheese and another glass of cava later and we found ourselves stuffed to the gills with only a few hundred grams of ham and cheese and smiling and gesturing to the shop keeper that we would be back the next day to purchase Jamon to bring home with us. There is just no way I can go back to Frankfurt without bringing John and Birgit a taste of what we just experienced.

Lost in Spain: Kit Cars

OK Dad, this one is for you. Nick and I are driving along minding our own business when out of nowhere this noisy kit car comes pounding up the highway.

It does look pretty cool though. The guy was wearing goggles and everything.

Lost in Spain: Savoring the Sea

So after what was by far the most incredible meal I have had the pleasure to consume, Birgit, John, Nick and I lingered this morning in Roses to dine at another place we had heard about called Rafa's.

We found this restaurant after watching a DVD Birgit bought John as part of his birthday present called Decoding Ferran Adria with Anthony Bourdain. In this video Anthony Bourdain mentioned two other restaurants that Ferran Adria had taken him to, one was a Jamon Iberico store in Barcelona (we're hoping to find it tomorrow) and the other was this tiny little seafood restaurant in Roses that is Ferran Adria's favorite place to eat when he's not working.

Apparently Rafa won't even open the restaurant if he doesn't think the seafood is up to par, but we were lucky today, he was open and he was cooking up a storm for us. We ordered more food than I can possibly believe and consumed it faster than you might think possible given the quantities, but somehow, it was just so fresh, so pure that you could eat and eat and eat and not ever feel too full.

We started off with a series of appetizers, all very simply prepared on the grill with olive oil, garlic and some lemon juice. It was so hard to choose so we actually ended up with five dishes as appetizers: wonderfully crunchy but tender sea cucumber, grilled baby squid, garlicky scampis, prawns (stripy ones that looks like tiny painted lobsters), and grilled clams. And then for the main courses we had sea bream (deboned tableside) and monk fish. Both were excellent, but I think the monk fish had the best flavor of the two.

And of course no meal on this trip so far would be complete without some type of dessert. not that we actually had room for it, but we just couldn't help ourselves when the waitress offered us a special dessert plate to enjoy. Actually it was a combination of three desserts, a fresh goat cheese (kind of a chevre, but even fresher) drizzled with sweet Spanish honey, a chocolate torte and apple tart. Very delicious and a good way to finish the meal. If this is how the eating has started out on this trip, I can only imagine that I'll be heading back to Frankfurt with no need to eat again for at least a month.

Lost in Spain: Driving Costa Brava

We arrived and we're on our way to Roses for dinner at El Bulli tonight. I cannot believe this is actually happening. Fortunately we've had almost five hours in the car for it to sink in. . .

In the meantime, we've managed to stop off in a tiny little seaside town (Birgit has been feeling a bit under the weather after a night out yesterday), and Nick picked up a gorgeous rose for me for St. George's Day. I'm supposed to buy him a book, but they're all in Spanish so I don't think it will do much good. I suppose he'll forgive me though.

Costa Brava is gorgeous, the road winds along these immense cliffs above the shoreline, and as you drive them you look down into almost Caribbean blue water within the coves. We couldn't have had a more beautiful day for the drive too, bright blue skies and sun, sun, sun.

Saving for the Future: Germans vs. Americans

OK, not really, but I did read an article today that talk about the absolute piss poor savings rate most Americans seem to have. What was interesting was that they directly referenced German savings rates vs. those in the U.S. Although the article wasn't really about comparing the two cultural viewpoints (really it was about how to get people to save more through inertia in decision making), I was just struck by the fact that they used Germany as a comparison.

Having now lived in Germany for over a year I've had ample opportunity to experience German attitudes towards money. While Germans may save a greater percentage of their paycheck in many ways it is because they simply have to in order to pay for ordinary or extraordinary purchase. Unlike the U.S. where a mindset of living on credit prevails, Germans rarely use credit cards. In fact, in quite a few places they aren't even accepted. When they do use credit cards, they often have to pay the balance off in full at the end of every month. So instead they live in what is primarily a cash based society. As a result, in many ways they simply don't have a choice. They MUST save more in order to do things like buy furniture, repair their cars, take vacations. They can't simply put it all on a credit card and pay it off over a period of months. A radically different situation than what currently exists in America, don't you think?

Anyway, just an interesting article to read now that I've got a bit more of the German perspective going on here. I think the Germans have the better approach than we do in some ways, somehow it just seems like it's better to live within your means. . . .

Hug, hug, hug

It is a cold and rather rainy Spring day in Frankfurt this Saturday. One of those miserably damp days that just seems to sink into all the aches and pains leftover from a stressful week. Nick's friend Mike was in town visiting for the day and despite the unfavorable weather we ended up sitting outside at my favorite Saturday farmer's market at Konstablerwache having pancakes and cappuccinos before Mike had to catch his flight. As we walked him down into the subway, we suddenly found ourselves surrounded by about 6 or 7 people carrying signs that said "Free Hugs" in a couple of different languages.

I have no idea what this was for or who was organizing it, but we all got hugs from the people with the signs. I got two for taking this picture. . . . It's definitely one way to brighten up a rainy April morning.

*** A quick addition to this. After a quick bit of research, apparently there is a Free Hugs Campaign out there. Check it out.

Mountain Lions and Earthquakes in Chicago? What next??

Rubble lies in the street Friday in Louisville, Kentucky, after part of a cornice fell off a building. (Taken from the CNN website, see below link)


First a mountain lion appears in Roscoe Village earlier this week and now an earthquake has struck Southern Illinois. This morning around 4:30am a 5.2 magnitude earthquake shook Southern Illinois with enough strength to make the buildings in Chicago sway.Granted Illinois happens to sit on top of a rather major fault line in the continent, but still, it's not like this is California or something.

I think the world has gone a little off kilter this week. Maybe it's the full moon that's about to strike, I don't know. But I have to admit, once again I'm really starting to wonder if I just shouldn't stay in Europe, I think it might be safer. . . .

Return of the Wild!

Snowy Frankfurt Mornings

Well, after all this time I finally have the chance to see a little snow in Frankfurt. What a surprise to wake up this morning and see the rooftops frosted with snow. I didn't actually think it would happen while I was here now that it's practically spring time. Then again, there's been a lot of snowfall in the Alps so I suppose it's not quite as crazy as it might seem.

I guess this means that I won't be biking into the office this morning.

Travel Stupidity

So I'm home from the Canaries again, but as with most of this trip, it couldn't help itself but end in some sort of travel stupidity. So here we go.

On Sunday afternoon after a spectacularly late night out with Kerry and Suzie, I raced around packing and climbed into the cab to head to the airport and go home. The airline had changed the flight time to an hour later so I had plenty of time and my trip home started out well enough with the airline checking my surf board bag in without any additional charges (Yeah!). So bag checked and tickets in hand I headed to the gate. So far, so good.

Unfortunately it all went downhill once I arrived in Barcelona. Although I didn't know if for a good hour. When I arrived I took a look at the flight board to see where I needed to go. Checked the time and thought, 'Oh good! Now, I've got 90 minutes to sit, grab a drink, make a phone call or two and write some emails." Which is exactly what I did, I figured with a 90 minute layover I could spare a little time to relax before heading to the gate. So 60 minutes later, I stroll casually up to the gate to find absolutely NO ONE there. Yup, somehow I hadn't realized that Barcelona was actually an hour ahead of where I was coming from. Instead of an hour and a half layover I had actually only had half an hour. And there were no more flights to Frankfurt that evening. Brilliance.

So after some panicked racing around the airport and some heavy negotiating on flight prices (they originally wanted to charge me for a full ticket at 742 euro, but I got them to do a ticket change for 98 euro instead), I hauled myself to a hotel for a few hours sleep before heading back to the airport at 5am to track down my luggage. An utter disaster, but it all worked out in the end.

Hard to believe I'm sure, but in all of the travel I've done in the last year I have never come close to anything quite this ridiculous. Oh well, lesson learned. I'll never, ever do this again. At least I'm finally home.

Surf School Stories Part II: Last Night Out

What a week it's been, new board, no clothes for 8 days and a couple of wonderful new friends.

Before I get to our big night out, I supposed I should elaborate slightly on my 8 days without clothing situation. When I arrived in Lanzarote last week, I was amazed to discover that while the airline had managed to deliver my surf board to me in one piece, they had some how left my duffel bag with everything else in it behind. Keeping in mind that the plane I flew from Frankfurt to Madrid and the plane I flew from Madrid to Lanzarote were the exact same one I was pretty amazed it had happened, but oh well. So after a few days of being told the bag was on the island and would be delivered only to have it never show up, the airline finally confessed on Sunday that they had NO IDEA where my bag was. So I called. Every day five times a day until finally they asked me for a list of "Identifying Objects" in the bag so they could put out a search to the entire European network to see if they could locate it.

Long story short, after calling for days on end, the owner of the surf school finally just swung by the airport on Friday only find my bag and have them telling me that it had been sitting there for at least THREE days. Yup. Three days, and every time I had called the airline had claimed that they had no idea where my bag was but they were looking for it throughout the European network. I hate to say this, but honestly, so Spanish. Fortunately I got everything back just in time to leave, but it did mean that I was able to spend a day surfing on the fin set-up that came with my board. So much better. I am in love with my new board.

So last night, my very last evening in Lanzo, I went out with a couple of new girls, Kerry and Suzie who just arrived on Thursday to this bar/restaurant/club kind of thing called Lago Mar. Apparently this place was built for the actor Omar Sharif and before he ever moved in he lost the house in a bridge game. I don't know much about that, but the space was incredible. It was built into the lava flows and is this huge complex of tunnels and lagoons and caves.

Plus the bar was fantastic. The bartender, Nino, was from Columbia but learned English from some American that had taught down in South America. Such a funny guy, and he made absolutely excellent capirinhas and mojitos. Who doesn't love a tasty drink on a Saturday night?

George and his newest girl showed up around 11pmish, just in time for the DJ to get things going in the bar. A few shots of rum, a few capirinhas and a lot of pictures of shoes later and I managed to find myself lounging down by one of the lagoons staring up at the stars. I guess there was only so much excitement I could handle in one night.

I have to say, it was a totally different Lanzo experience than Christmas/New Year's was, but it was still a good one. Quiet, reflective, sans my own clothes (you learn a lot about yourself when that happens by the way), and major progress in my surfing, or at least that's what I thought. I did learn to do a flick jump this time around! For those who don't surf that means I can now get up with out using my feet, I can basically just kind of flick myself into the air. Pretty exciting.

Anyway, I'm off now, already at the airport, and although I didn't manage to get a morning surf in today with Kerry, I did manage have breakfast with George, his new girl, Suzie and Kerry before heading off today. I do love the fact that I keep coming away from these surf trips with new friends. I'm hoping to get to Croyde this June with Kerry before I have to head back to the States. Oh well, gotta board the plane now, I'm homeward bound to rainy Frankfurt.