Spring in Central Europe: Leafy Greeness, Nerds Galore, and Electric Air

Albrect Dürer Platz in Nürnberg. Photo taken from on top of the city wall.

 We've had incredible weather since returning to Germany. Most days have been sunny and in the mid-70's. My idea of perfect weather. I don't like it much warmer than that, unless I'm on a beach or expected submerge myself in a body of water. Unfortunately for my near future I live in a very dense city, with no apparent swimming/cooling down option nearby, and I've heard summer referred to as "the wet season" of Bavaria because of the intense humidity. Air conditioning is almost unheard of (no AC at the adidas campus. As if working during the summer doesn't blow already) and I should just forget about the days of ordering ice-cold beverages. Germany is apparently not a fan of ice. Although it was very easy to find ice in our drinks while in the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. I tend to believe that sipping on something very cold in intense heat is the superior method of refreshment. (Yes, that was a pointed comment at the Germans).

 Uh-hem. I'm not really sure where I was going with that. Basically, the weather right now is absolutely gorgeous, but I'm sure to become a whiny baby when the real summer heat arrives.

Spring has also brought out all the tourists. Fortunately while Nürnberg gets her fair share of them, so far it  has only really been packed out on the weekends. We just returned from a couple days in Prague and, wow, way too many tourists. Also, a new, um, trend(?) in tourism that I've noticed over the last couple of weeks are the Segway tours. Oh my gosh, they are so hilarious! I make a point to document the ones I see. Why? I don't know, but the helmets get me every time!

It looks like they're fighting dragons. In the future.

Another spring treat in this area are all the thunder and lighting storms! It can be a perfectly sunny day, then the air gets really heavy, shortly after that the sky gets dark and the wind picks up. Quickly find cover! Because the downpour begins and the sky lights up! We had a particularly intense storm in Prague on Friday evening. Immediately following that storm we walked through the Old Town Square and caught a picture of the receding thunderclouds against the backdrop of the Tyn Cathedral.

Yes, spring has been amazing. And it's only going to get better. Megs and I leave for Italy tomorrow morning!

U.S. Wrap Up

 I was sipping Miller High Life out of a champagne flute on my last night in Portland. Cuz Miki knows that's how I like it!

Oh my goodness, yes! Yes, I had an amazing trip home to the good ol' U.S. of A. After six weeks, many microbrews, and more than a handful of burritos I arrived back in Germany with an extra 6 lbs on the frame. I blame it on that last week in Portland. I think we ate out every single meal, but it was totally worth it! It was like we had been restaurant starved for 8 months. Oh wait. We had.

Our good friend Megan is visiting us right now from Portland. She's in the final stage of her therapeutic jet lag recovery program (walk for hours, eat heavy German food, drink dark beer, take afternoon nap) right now so I decided to take this time and write a very short post.

Thank you all for your concern and kind words regarding my grandfather's health. I got to Skype with him and my grandmother this last Sunday and it sounds like he responding well to his treatments. They hinted at a Germany trip once he's recovered. I hope so!

Also, thank you to my family and friends who put up with me in their homes for days on end. While the circumstances of returning home for so long were at times tense and scary, it was so wonderful to catch up and spend time with everyone!

I posted a photo album a few days ago with some of the pictures I took while we were in California and Oregon. Facebook tells me that I "can make this album available to the public" through this link. So you don't have to be my "friend" on Facebook to see it. I think. Eh, let me know if there are any problems

Click here: US Trip - 2011

We'll be traveling with Megs quite a bit over the next couple week. Prague and northern Italy are on deck. It should be pretty epic!