Searching for Fun: Museum Edition

The majority of cities you go to will have a museum that houses at least two (if not more) of the following: History and/or War, Science and Technology, Art, The life’s work of (insert name of composer, artist, or inventor), or maybe even Archeology or Space. This is great, if that’s YOUR thing. I however, have discovered that I really don’t enjoy spending hours walking around a museum, reading the many facts I read/learned about in High School or staring at paintings that are in all the books or all over the internet. To be honest, I wasn’t even really interested in them back in High School.

I have nothing against the Science and Technology Museums. They generally have interesting things to see and allow you to touch the items and be part of the scene. However, I don’t want to see the same thing over and over in each city. So as I research all of the cities I want to see, I find myself checking out the museum section of the tourism sight, looking for something fun and different. Unfortunately, the internet isn’t always pulling through for me. I Google phrases such as the: “Best Museums in Germany” or “Most Interesting Museums of Germany” and the top 5-10 results are for history and art museums. So, I find myself Googling each individual city I may want to visit and book marking those with interesting museums. I am sad to report that a number of sites, while boasting over 30 museums, having nothing I want to see.

So, what is it that I’m looking for? I haven’t completely ruled out history museums…just the ones about city history, war and fur trading, etc.

Here is a list of some of the museums that caught MY attention and they didn’t disappoint.

1. Chocolate Museum Cologne (Schokoladen Museum), in Cologne, Germany

Learn about the history of chocolate, cocoa farming, and how chocolate’s made. Learn about your favourite products and beauty supplies that contain cocoa and what the old fashion chocolate shops look like. And if you weren’t impressed with that, part of the tour includes touring the Lindt Chocolate Factory where you can get an up close look at how the Chocolate makers make those delicious Bunnies you get in your Easter baskets or those creamy Lindor balls you get for every occasion. The Lindt store is located on your way out and will be sure to satisfy the Chocolate craving
you developed throughout your visit.

2. German Sport and Olympic Museum (Deutsches Sport and Olympia Museum), in Cologne, Germany

Located right beside the Chocolate Museum, you can plan on making this your second stop. A close look at the actual items used in both the Winter and Summer Olympics through the years. These items include, the torches you might have seen in your community, the outfits, clubs, gloves, etc worn by winning or participating athletes, including Shaq O’Neal’s very large running shoe, patches of grass from the stadiums, tickets to the final Canada-U.S hockey game at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, and the list goes on. When I visited, they were in the process of designing the interior of some new rooms…my guess is that it will be for the 2012 London Summer

Olympics. 

3. National Leprechaun Museum in Dublin, Ireland

 While this museum is both quite new and small, it’s the red headed tour guide that made the experience. Learn about Irish mythology and the story of the Leprechaun. Listen, as your tour guide tells you the tales of how he almost caught a leprechaun and feel what it’s like to be a leprechaun as you try to climb into the chairs that tower above your head.

4. Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, Ireland

If you like beer, this tour will not disappoint. Discover how Guinness beer is made and pour your own perfect pint of Guinness at the end of the tour. One beer included in the price of admission ticket.It doesn't stop there, head upstairs to the Gravity Bar where you can take in a 360 degree view of the city. Don't forget to hit-up the Guinness Store on your way out to pick up some Guinness merchandise.

And here is the list of Museums that I might possibly entertain, should I have time to explore the location:

1. The Nordic Museum of Daily Life in Stockholm, Sweden

2. The Museum of Bags and Purses in Amsterdam, Netherlands

3. The Heineken Experience in Amsterdam, Netherlands

4. Madame Tussauds- A collection of Wax Figures in Berlin, Germany

5. ModellPark Berlin- Brandenburg in Berlin, Germany

6. University Museum in Krakow, Poland

7. Budapest Memento Park (Statue Park): Gigantic Reminders of the Past in Budapest, Hungary

8. Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg, Germany

My ultimate goal is not to hit a museum in every city; they are just nice to visit on a rainy day or a Sunday, when nothing else is open anyways.If you find yourself looking for something similar to I am, I hope you have found this list useful! I would also love to hear about some of the fascinating European museums that others have hit, and where I can find it!

Children: Learning Their Language

Have you ever watched the interaction between a parent and children under the age of 2?

On a number of occasions, I have been in the presence of young children and watched or listened as they babble away, as if they are having a conversation. In the early stages, their parents often respond with things like “oh really?” or “ya” to indicate to the child that they are listening. When the child reaches the next stage, they start to pick up actual words and put them into their conversations. When they use words such as “yes” or “no” I would find that it was generally very clear, but when they start learning more words, I found it difficult to understand. Actually, it still sounded like babbling to me, but then I would hear the parent respond with something like “Oh you’re hungry” or “Is this the toy you were looking for?” and the child would be satisfied. I would look on feeling both impressed and a bit guilty for being the only one who didn’t understand. I felt particularly bad when the child was speaking directly to ME and the parent would then “translate” the request, making it sound so simple.

I have finally learned that it’s like a whole other language and unless you have already learned that child’s particular language, you are not going to understand. Not the type you will learn in a book, but the kind you learn by immersing yourself into it, aka being that child’s parent or working with them every day. The youngest one I look after was at that stage when I first began working with them. She knew a few words, but I found it difficult to understand. I was told it’s important to talk to them at that age because that’s how to learn new words. It felt a bit strange, talking away to a child who wasn’t really responding. So I would just talk about what I was doing…”okay, let’s put on your sweater, now your shoes...first the left foot…and the now the right foot…” Slowly, she started to add new words by repeating something that her mom or I had just said.  For instance, if I said, “would you like some pancakes?” She would respond with “ya” or “pancake”. When I’ve only said 5 words, it’s pretty easy to understand or guess at what she’s just said. Now, having previously heard her say these words, I understand when she says them to me again later because I am familiar with how it sounds when she says it. And now, she is at the stage where she tries to repeat the majority of the words I say. So in the few short months that I’ve known her, her vocabulary has grown and I am able to understand. So, here we are, I’ve finally learned the “language” and looking after young children isn’t so difficult after all.

Transporting a Canadian Style Christmas into Germany

Matt and I stayed in Germany for Christmas and decided we would make our own Christmas Dinner.
We decided we would get a small chicken instead of a turkey and got all of the ingredients to make stuffing, broccoli salad and mashed potatoes. That was the easy part. Neither of us have ever cooked or prepared a chicken with legs and wings, stuffed one, or really ever watched the process so the end result could either be delicious or a huge disaster.

The Baking I Did

I wrote home for the directions to make the stuffing and broccoli salad and asked the family I’m working with how to go about preparing and cooking the chicken. I’ve watched them make it a few times and it didn’t seem overly complicated. I also acquired the directions on how to make chicken noodle soup with the leftover chicken and carcass. I finally received the measuring spoons and cups from home and made a variety of Christmas squares and cookies in advance.

Christmas Day was now finally here and how did everything pan out?

Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread

I got up and decided I would make a Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread that I found using StumbleUpon for breakfast. I read over the directions for the first time to discover that the dough has to be left to rise for at least an hour and its best done the night before and then left in the fridge over night. FAIL. I guess that’s why you should always read the directions in advance. The initial part 30-40 minutes and then had to sit…so we wouldn’t be having it for breakfast. We decided to have a morning snack instead with our coffee and we opened the presents we had gotten for each other and the ones that our family had shipped over from Canada.

Ernie the Chicken

By this time this was done, the dough had risen and was ready to be rolled out. Overall, It took approximately three hours so we ended up having it around 11:30 with mimosas. It was fantastic and worth the wait.  It seems in Germany instead of giving bottles of wine, people give you bottles of Champagne instead (still a good alternative). Fortunately the three hour bread was the only thing that went wrong all day. That and the fact that the only things we bought at the grocery store were the ingredients to make the big dinner and breakfast. Our European mini fridge would not accommodate another thing. We had pasta the previous night for dinner and no appetizers for Christmas day or too many options for snacks...cookies, squares and some tangerines.

Our Christmas Table

We stuffed and seasoned Ernie the chicken and the rest off the afternoon was spent cutting up and peeling the

rest of the vegetables and skyping with our families.  Everything was ready shortly after six. Ernie exited the oven looking pretty good; upside down and looking as if he might just run right out of the pan, but pretty damn good none the less. The meal was delicious and clean-up afterward wasn’t that difficult. I finished off the evening with my moms family displaying me on their TV screen through skype and having all 10 of them hold their Christmas presents up to the camera to show me their new possessions so I could feel as though I was actually there with them.

Overall, it was a successful first Christmas together and the Canadian traditions lived on!

Matt and I About to Enjoy Christmas Dinner

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Christmas will be here tomorrow and I’ve been doing my best to get into the holiday spirit and celebrate in Germany.
Here’s What We’ve Done:
Step One: Set up little 10 Inch Christmas Tree that Matt’s parents sent us.
Step Two: Hang Christmas window decoration.
Step Three: Buy a poinsettia, baking pans and track down Canadian equivalent ingredients (this also included e-mailing home to get additional Christmas recipes and looking them up on the internet).
Step Four: Bake lot’s of delicious treats
Step Five: Go to the Nürnberg and Bamberg Christmas Markets
Step Six: Make a gigantic Christmas grocery shopping list
Step Seven: Figure out how to cook a Chicken
….By this time it was still 3-4 days before Christmas and I still forget that it’s even December.
Step Eight: Put wrapped Christmas presents around little tree and clean up apartment.
..It looks a little more festive in here now. But one thing is still missing. Besides the fact it’s just the two of us, the SNOW is missing! It looks like November outside. It was so mild yesterday, I didn’t need to wear mittens and was getting too warm in a fall leather jacket. We had snow once this month! It came, it covered the ground, it rained, it melted. To be fair, it sounds as though Canada isn’t having a white Christmas either, or maybe they are. I can’t keep track with all the “It Snowed! Looks like it will be a white Christmas after all!” followed by the “We got rain and it was washed away”
The Nürnberg weather forcast is calling for mixed Snow and Rain or Snow followed by Rain so it doesn’t sound very promising.

However, I must say the Christmas Markets have been helping. Over 150 carts selling Christmas Ornaments, Gingerbread Cookies and Glühwein! I’ve decided I am going to try and collect Christmas ornaments from every country I visit. So far, I haven’t been able to just pick one. From Ireland, I brought home two leprechaun’s, one holding a pot of gold and the other holding a pint of Guinness. From Germany, I bought a Nutcracker, a cuckoo clock, and a little German girl wearing a dirndl. I also bought a Santa on Skies which has nothing to do with Germany but I was walking past 1000’s of Christmas ornaments and couldn’t help it.

Glühwein: one cup is never enough!
You cannot go to a German Christmas Market without getting a cup of Glühwein (mulled red wine, served warm and in a mug). I paid the fond and kept the Nürnberg Christmas mug. I purchased a second cup in Bamberg solely for the mug with the detailed Bamberg Rathaus and I purchased a bottle to bring home and drink over the holidays!

Matt and I are planning to have a proper Christmas dinner. We bought everything to cook a small chicken, stuffing, broccoli salad, and mashed potatoes. Neither of us have cooked a chicken before, but the Christmas baking turned out so there is hope! Hopefully it won’t turn out like that scene from the movie The Santa Claus when Tim Allen’s turkey sets on fire.

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas! If you are cooking your first Christmas Dinner as well, Good Luck!!!

FIRE!! HALT!!

Are your appliances old? Do you own appliances that are half broken and should be replaced but still manage to do the trick so you plan on keeping them until they actually kick?
If you answered yes, and said appliance is a toaster that doesn’t automatically pop anymore or any other appliance that may cause accident, please do everyone a favour and get rid of them.

As you have likely already read, I am a nanny for a family here in Germany. I go into their home to look after the kids. This means, I have to get use to and figure out how all of their appliances work, what foods they like and how they like them prepared. This morning, I put a piece of bread in the toaster for one of the little girls and then continued washing up the dishes. All of a sudden, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a light I hadn’t noticed before and looked over… FIRE! IN THE TOASTER!

“AHH” I yelled. I ran over and began blowing out the fairly large flame on the piece of toast. I pulled up the lever and once the fire was out, took the piece of bread and threw it out onto the metal part of the balcony. I did my best to waft the smoke out the door afraid it would set the fire alarm off. I went to get another piece of bread and noted to the mom that the toaster wasn’t automatically popping. They already NEW that but had forgotten to tell me. Luckily, the cupboards above the toaster are high enough that the flame had not reached them and no harm was done. I put a second piece of bread into the toaster and watched it as I began drying a few dishes. Watching a toaster is like watching paint dry.

It occurred to me while I was waiting for the second piece to toast that the mother had previously told me that German homes/apartments don’t have fire alarms….and that if you smell smoke, take that as your cue to get out! What is this, the stone age? What building wouldn’t be equipped with fire alarms? What if I had gone to the bathroom or decided to clean up the dining room while I was waiting instead of cleaning the dishes? This is not the first time this has happened to me. Two years ago, at my aunt’s house, I put a piece of bread in the toaster and went back into my room to finish getting ready. Not too long after, the fire alarm went off. It was very effective. It wasn’t just the standard beeping fire alarm. Not only did it beep, but it yelled FIRE!!! HALT!! On a continuous loop until my aunt shut off the breaker. No harm done to her home or toaster, but the toaster immediately went into the garbage after that.

When I got back home to my German apartment, I noted that our apartment did not have a fire alarm either. I am curious as to what the statistics are of deaths related to fires in the home or in a building. I am sure they are much higher than those in Canada or the United States.

The lesson learned here is to never leave your kitchen when there is a toaster involved and if the toaster looks like it’s from the 90’s, don’t let it out of your sight when the lever is down..especially if you live in Germany.

No better time for a morning jog than when you're wearing knee high leather boots, a leather jacket and pulling a carry-on wheelie suitcase

Time: Approximately 9:08am
Location: Dublin Airport, about to board my Ryan Air flight back to Memmingen, Germany departing at 9:30am
when this happened:
Girl at the Gate: "You havent got your passport check done" "You can't board this plane without getting it done" "You have to go back to the check-in"
Me: "WHAT! I got pulled out of the check-in line by Airport staff and sent straight through security, she looked at my ticket!"
Girl at the Gate "It's not their responsibility" "You have to go back"
Me: "Am I going to be able to make this plane?"
Girl at the Gate: "I dont know, it's at least 10 minutes back just to security"

The story. It clearly states on my boarding pass that all persons that are not members of the EU must have their passport checked prior to entering security. This is literally having someone look at your passport for 30 seconds and putting a stamp on your boarding pass.
I had it done when I left Memmingen on Friday, along with an official checking and stamping my passport after going through Memmingen security, and again when I arrived in Dublin.
I was dropped off at the airport at least 2 hours before my flight departed. I stood in the line, only to reach the lady trying to assist people print their boarding passes. I had already done the check-in and printing online. I told her I already had mine, she LOOKED AT IT and despite it saying, requires passport check, says no this is everything you need, you can just step out of line here and go straight to security. You can get your gate number at security.
Through security, boarding pass looked at, bought a bottle of Jameson Whiskey, boarding pass looked at, made the 10 minute walk to my gate only to discover there were no good shops down there and I had lots of time so I actually made the 10 minute walk back to purchase a hoodie, boarding pass checked, and get a coffee and muffin from Starbucks.

Finally the flight is boarding. I did think, its really strange that no one has looked at my passport today. I mean, I kept trying to show people and no one wanted it. But I figured they would look at it before I got on the plane and I had so many friggin stamps on the way to Dublin that maybe that was enough.  Nope. Here's where that fun little interaction occured.

So here I go, making my trek back to check-in. Thinking to myself, will I make this plane? This is ridiculous. Then it hit me... that the next flight may not have been for another few days and that I had to one, work the next day and two, was not about to be shelling out more money for a new ticket. Time Check: 9:11am. Shit. Start full out running, back towards security. I had on jeans and a 3/4 jacket, knee high leather boots, a leather jacket, a heavy purse, and a carry-on wheelie suitcase dragging behind me. Run, run, run. I should mention that I am no runner. I swim for work and exercise, but I never run, and the breathing is not nearly the same.Get to security and spot someone who isnt doing anything. My throat feels like its on fire but I manage to yell out and ask for help, "My flight is leaving in just over 10 minutes, I need a passport check and I now have a bottle of whiskey in my bag". He was very friendly and escorted me through the back door and I explained how I had been pulled out of line. "I dont know why they do this" he said. Clearly this has happened before. Within minutes, he had someone stamp my boarding pass and have the flight held. He escorted me back through security ignoring the beeping that my belt, coat and everything was now causing and I high tailed it back to the gate.
Time check: 9:25am
Girl at the Gate: "Oh, you made it"
...Bitch
Luckily, there were still a few people on the tarmac waiting to board the plane. Ready to jump on, but oh wait!! The other girl at the counter says, "excuse me, you have to put your purse in your luggage"
$"!#!!!
I didnt have to do this on the way there, and I threw my souvenirs in my bag not really leaving room. On top of trying to figure this out, I am dying of heat exhaustion and lack of hydration. Finally, one of the airport men stood in front of her blocking her view and told me to forget it and go. Thanks Sir!!!!
Finally on the plane, soaked in sweat, and throat on fire. It was an excellent plane ride home and drinks were not free.

Luckily, everything went well after that. I figured out the bus and all the trains to get home and was home by 6pm.

This post was really just a rant, although I think I really earned it.
The moral of the story, if your boarding pass says, passport check required, you better make sure you get it BEFORE you go through security and argue when you are told otherwise.

DUBLIN

The streets and houses don't look too different than everything else, but only Ireland can get away with naming all of their bars, shops, and funeral homes after their family name and have it sound so great. Vaughn's, Murphy's, Fanigans, Whelan's are just a few places that line the streets.

Friday evening, we made a trip to the cinema. You may think...you can do that at home...but living in Germany, finding a decent movie playing in English is not an easy task. It's almost a novelty to be able to see a film. And I did get to see the sites at night, the christmas decorations and make 4 trips over the Ha' Penny Bridge in one evening trying to figure out the evening public transportation schedule.

Saturday was a successful day of sightseeing. Grafton Street, Photos with Leprechauns, Stephens Green, Trinity College, the Spire, Ha' Penny Bridge (again), O'Connell Bridge, major statues including Molly Malone, Leprechaun Museum, Guinness Storehouse, just to name a few. A certificate in hand to state that I poured a perfect pint of Guinness, although I'll be honest and tell you, apparently I didn't pour the top correctly.
Eggs, toast, and bacon rashers for breakfast, fish and chips for lunch, and a deep fried burger and chips for dinner. That is, a beef patty covered with deep dry batter and eaten with a fork. I was assured that this was just a coincidence to have it twice in one day and that the Irish don't eat like that everyday :)

A night out in Dublin with Julie and her friends where I saw firsthand, just how dressed up the Irish get, even just to go to the bar; fancy dresses, platform heals, and blown out/teased hair.

I came home having had my first ever Guinness, am a hoodie, some christmas decorations, and a bottle of 12 year old Jameson Whiskey richer, and owing the Dublin 6 cents for all the crossing I did over the Ha' Penny Bridge.

A Big THANKS to Julie for letting me stay in her home, introducing me to her family and friends, and taking time off work to show me around the city! Ive got two new passport stamps, lots of memories, pictures and souvenirs, and another country to add to my list. You are a great friend!



Guinness Mustache!