Election 2008: Yes We Can

So today I stumbled across this video while reading Ad Age and a poll they were taking on whether professional advertising type people should be volunteering their services to political campaigns. An interesting question given that I know back in the day the founder of my agency, Leo Burnett, himself contributed to the Goldwater campaign back in the early 60s (granted I believe we were paid for that, but nonetheless a professional adman was involved).

What fascinates me more though is how whether you are a believer in Barack Obama or not, the use of media and celebrity endorsement in this campaign cycle has been fascinating to watch as a marketer. What started as a use of new media during the 2004 election has become a full-blown paradigm shift in how information is conveyed to people during the campaign period and perhaps more importantly how individuals are getting involved in the campaign process. This video is simply one more (admittedly quite slick) example of individual involvement, and despite the fact that it is chock full of celebrities (which certainly helps it gain greater attention), at the end of the day it is an individual taking part in the process, trying to drum up support for a candidate that they believe in. And though it's cliche I'll say it anyway, the power of the internet and platforms like YouTube, Facebook, blogging, whatever is incredible.

Most of all I love the fact that in the short time I have been a conscious participant in the American electoral system (and yes, that has only been taking place for a good decade now), the internet has given people a platform for engagement. Truly this is the first campaign season I can remember that has actually sparked debate and involvement beyond the extreme right, the extreme left and the intellectuals. The first campaign that has captivated generations young and old in a way that possibly hasn't been seen since Kennedy was in office.

As we continue to progress through the nomination process and ultimately the election itself I have no doubt we will continue to see history made in America regardless of whether a Democrat or a Republican ends up in office.

Lost in Germany and Austria: Kaiserschmarrn and my expanding waistline

After all of the time I've recently spent in Austria, I've developed a slight obsession with a very, very Austrian dessert called Kaiserschmarrn. Basically it's this incredibly doughy, chopped up pancake served with plum sauce and raisins and powdered sugar. It tastes sooo good and is sooo bad for my wasitline. But somehow that doesn't keep me from stuffing myself with it every chance I get. So in an effort to cut down my expenditures on doughy pancake desserts, I've located a recipe that I will now share with you.
Enjoy!

Kaiser Pancakes (Kaiserschmarren)

Imperial Austrian Cuisine by Renate Wagner-Wittula

Ingredients:

6 eggs

200 g (7oz) cake or pastry flour

50 g (1 1/2 oz) sugar

250 ml (8 fluid oz) milk

pinch of salt

40 g (1 oz) raisins

butter

confectioners’ sugar (powdered)

plum purée

Preparation:

Separate the egg whites from the yolks. Thouroughly mix the yolks, sugar, milk and flour. Whisk the egg whites, add a pinch of salt and continue whisking until stiff. Now, carefully fold into the egg yolk mixture. Melt butter in a large pan, pour in the mixture and sprinkle in raisins. Let cook on one side for a few minutes, turn over and tear into pieces with a fork. Now let finish cooking (ideally in a buttered pan in a preheated oven(. Be especially careful not to overcook the pancakes, otherwise they will dry out. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar and serve with plum purée.

Lost in Germany: Neuschwanstein aka Sleeping Beauty's Castle

So post-Nick's morning ski we headed off again back to Frankfurt, but we made a small detour to see the original inspiration for Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty Castle, Neuschwanstein. The castle is nestled in a tiny town in Germany and was actually built in the mid-1800s by Ludwig II, King of Bavaria. He was a little bit nuts but quite beloved by the people in his kingdom.

I have to say, the castle itself does actually look like something out of a storybook, but then again that seems to have been Ludwig's idea. He had a very pure idea of what a King should be surrounded by and he had a love of the Middle Ages and the courtly ideals they supposedly upheld. So the crazy thing about the castle is that even though it looks like it should have been constructed in the middle ages it actually has all of these hidden 'modern' amenities like hot air central heating, running water on every floor and even an telephone system! Ultimately the guy became a complete recluse and was declaired insane by the Bavarian government, deposed and then the day after he was interned at the Bern palace, he died in a mysterious drowning incident along with the psychiatrist who had declared him insane. Very strange. . .

Anyway, Nick and I arrived too late to actually get into the castle, but after napping in the car on the way there I had built up a lovely store of energy, so I dragged Nick on a very brisk walk up around the back way along a hilly path to a bridge overlooking the castle. It was a beautiful view and definitely worth detouring for on the way home.

And here's a moment of small world wonder. As we were hiking up to look at the castle from afar, I was chatting with Nick about winter skiing and riding snowmobiles on Lake Sunapee in New Hampshire. Something I always loved doing when I would go up to my friend's lake house during the winter. So low and behold, we round the bend and there in front of me are to boys, probably about 12 and 14 wearing, I kid you not, Mt. Sunapee Ski Team 2008 jackets. Seriously. Is that crazy or what?

The best part was when I asked them if they were from NH and told them I used to ski up there, they said they were in Europe to ski in Austria. In St. Anton of all places, just where I was last week. Strange small world it is, no?

Lost in Germany: Sunbathing Snowbunnies

Now I admit that I've always held a bit of disdain for the type girl who chooses to perch on a sunchair on top of a ski mountain instead of actually doing something fun and physical like oh, say, skiing on said ski mountain. However after a rather disastrous equipment rental yesterday and a few still sore limbs and such from my snowboarding experiment last weekend I'd like to expound for a moment on the merits of sitting in the sun on a ski mountain.

It is wonderful.

I've spent the last few hours, perched in a sun chair looking out on the mountain, soaking up some rays, reading a book and drinking a cup of hot chocolate while paragliders coast overhead. It is peaceful, it is sunny and I can be grateful that I'm not one of the herd of injured skiiers that happen to be sitting next to me with piles of crutches near by.

This quiet time may be just what I needed after all the madness of the last few weeks.

Lost in Germany: Zugspitze, the highest peak in Germany (and Austria)

So after our fantastic week of skiing and lounging in St. Anton, I convinced Nick to hop back in the car and take another weekend trip with me, this time to Garmisch-Partenkirchen a small town close to the Austrian border that is also the home of a glacier covered mountain called the Zugspitze.

So the Zugzpitze is Germany's highest mountain. Actually, I think it might also be the highest peak in Austria as well. It's almost 3,000 meters (10,000 ft) high and it actually offers skiing all year round which is pretty cool. We arrived, took the gondola up the mountain and then Nick realized that he could actually step back into his home country! Just by walking through a hallway and out onto the other side he could arrive in Austria.

After snapping the requisite pictures from Germany's (and Austria's) highest point, we headed off to ski. Unfortunately I had managed to rent absolutely crap equipment, mostly the ski boots which had a disturbing habit of having the lining slide around every time I tried to set the edge on my skis. So being uncomfortable with the crappy equipment I decided to call it an early day and called it quits before lunch. But Nick had a blast and I got to sit outside and enjoy the sunshine. Probably better for me anyway, I still can't quite sit down properly after my snowboarding experiment in St. Anton. No need to damage myself more this weekend.

So, random facts about the Zugspitze:

• You can get to the top in three ways: Cogwheel train, Climbing or Cable Car
• From the top you can see 4-countries: Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy
  
• You can cross directly into Austria/Tyrol from the top of the mountain
• The highest chapel in Germany is located on the peak
  

Lost in Europe: The pleasure of trains

We are on our way home from our wonderful week skiing in Austria right now. Even as we hop from one train to another (I think we have four transfers this time), I have to say that I have grown so fond of train travel in Europe. Excluding the occasional hassle of transfers, train travel may perhaps be one of my favorite ways to see things. Now stress about lost luggage or endless security checks (ie Airports which I see far too much of anyway), no trouble with massive traffic or insanely expensive gas prices (ie Driving, where I might add you can't even nap if you're the one behind the wheel). All that and the train usually drops you in the middle of whatever city you're on your way to! Superb.

Top that off with gorgeous scenery and the ability to get up, stretch your legs and grab a snack any time you want and I'd say it's just about perfect. Plus you get to see some of the country you're traveling through. This gorgeous sunset was part of my view as we headed home tonight.

Wish train travel were more of an option in the States. Even though the U.S. may be the one of the 4 or 5 biggest countries in the world it covers roughly the same area as the European continent, in fact even a little less (3.79 million square miles in the U.S. versus 3.84 million square miles in Europe). We really don't have much of an excuse. Anyway, time to sit back and enjoy the ride home.

My 100th Post

So I've been abroad now for almost a year and I've written 100 entries in my blog since I got here. Some timely, some not. Some so greatly delayed that I wondered if I would ever actually get them written. But they've mostly all been written.

I have to say it's been a hell of a year, besides making the move to Germany, learning a new language and taking on more responsibility at work, I've traveled.

Boy have I traveled.

In the last 11 months, I've taken 32 trips, been to 13 different countries and over 40 different cities and towns. Sometimes I fly (most often), sometimes I drive, and sometimes I've even taken that oh so Euro form of transport, the train. I guess you could say I've been making the most of Frankfurt's incredible access to Europe and other points nearby. It's been amazing.

So amazing in fact that I can't quite imagine ever coming back some days. A fact my dad occasionally gives me a hard time about when I say that I just want to do more, that I want to travel even further, visit more cities, meet more people. That I can't possibly imagine not having these opportunities right at my fingertips. In his view, my time here is an gift most people will never have (I would argue that in the U.S. it's also something the vast majority has no interest in) so I should be grateful for whatever time I can get regardless of whether it's a year or 18 months or five years. I should be thankful to have had even a little bit of time here even if it ends before I'm ready for it to.

To be clear, I do, as a matter of fact, know that the opportunity I've been given to live over here, work over here and travel like a madwoman is an incredibly rare thing and I'm grateful for it. Every single day in fact. I am living my life as if this little dream existence I have could burst like a bubble tomorrow. It still doesn't meant that I'd be ready to give it up anytime soon, even, well let's just say it would take a lot to make me give it up. To steal a quote from a friend:

"People say that what we are seeking is a meaning for life. I don't think this is what we're really seeking. I think what we're seeking is an experience of being alive."
~ Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth

And that pretty much sums up my current philosophy on life. After spending the last (almost) year overseas, I can say with utter conviction that the experiences I've had and the people I've met in the last year are everything that makes being alive so incredible. And as far as I can tell in my 29 short years, the best thing you can do is find meaning in your experiences, in the people you meet and the impact you have. So here's to another year of unimaginable experiences, incredible people and maybe even another 100 posts.

(If anyone actually cares to read them.)

Lost in Austria: From One Board to Another

OK, so I agreed to attempt snowboarding for two reasons today:

1. Nick said he thought I'd love it because it would be like surfing, but on the snow
2. I thought, "Hell, I can surf (sort of). I should be able to snowboard too. And I should love this sport, it's like surfing but on snow."

OK, yes it is, but no not really. First off, falling on a snowboard hurts a hell of a lot more than falling off a surfboard.

Water = Soft

Snow = Hard

Not so good for my little butt which I probably won't be able to sit down on again until next winter.

Second of all, a snowboard seems to accelerate a hell of a lot faster than a surfboard. Which often leads me to falling. Often. Also not so good. If I can just get the hang of this I think I could totally get into it. But right now I have a concussion so I'm going to bed.

And yes, Emily, I have invested in a helmut. I should have listened to you in the first place and bought one before I even tried this out. Lesson learned.

Welcome to the world, John Dwyer V!!

Well, here I am, lying in bed, enjoying my lovely week of Skiing and I just got an email that my darling, wonderful friend Claire has done the fantastic and delivered her first baby this morning.

As of 11:44am, John Edward Dwyer V, aka Jack, arrived in the world at a rousing 21 incheslong and 7 lbs 9 ounces.

Big congratulations to the whole family. I can't wait to meet Jack when I'm home in March!

Lost in Austria: Après Ski in Lech

OK, it's been two days. I've been in ski lessons all day and today, after I finally got to a point where I felt like I was getting the hang of the whole ski thing again.

Until I met up with Nick and Konrad that is. So Konrad is a friend of Nick's who has practically grown up in Lech skiing every winter, all winter long. In fact he's now a ski/snowboard instructor on the mountain. So you could say he's a pretty good skier. So is Nick for that matter. I on the other hand still feel pretty shaky since it had been about, oh I would say probably a good 5-6 years since I'd spent any significant time slipping down a mountainside.

Anyway, I met up with them for après ski and Konrad took us down a pretty steep, pretty moguly slope. So off go he and Nick, gliding down, looking graceful and smooth. Me, I inched down on my über tired legs just hoping that I could survive without suddenly catching an edge and tumbling down. But Konrad took us all the way up to the highest restaurant that was the only one left that would still have sunlight on it so we could have a few drinks before heading back for the night.

Despite the exhaustion, the view was worth it.

But given how tired I already was, you can only imagine how I felt about things after a few glass of prosecco. Somehow it doesn't make it easier to head down the slopes on alcohol weighted legs carrying when the snow has become slushy and then refrozen so it's almost like you're skiing through sand on the super steep slopes. . . .

But I made it. In one piece. Thank god, especially because tomorrow I'm planning to try snowboarding . . . yet more opportunities to fall. I love it.

Lost in Austria: Dead animals and Christmas ornaments

OK, we have been in St. Anton now for a few days. It is lovely and so is our little hotel. Perfectly positioned just 15-20 meters from the ski lift. However, in our little hotel there is a strange preponderance of taxidermy critters. And they're really kind of
frightening. . . . Every time we come up the stairs I am greeted by this dog/fox like thing on the bench. Startling every time at night after a glass or two of wine.


Anyway, after my first day of skiing in blowing snow, I realized that my snowpants are no longer quite so snow resistant, so I have purchased a new pair on sale. Bright red. Combined with my green jacket I just realized that I resemble a Christmas ornament. Highly entertaining.