Vancouver: Those last 4 months FLEW past!

Here I am, still in Vancouver :o) Still working at the cheese shop. It's mostly fun and man, if you need anyone to hook you up with wine/cheese pairings - I'm your lady. This december I'm working 6 days a week! Christmas is our busied season.

I'm also still teaching german on Tuesdays. Last Tuesday my students were filmed by a local german TV station as they got a visit from St. Nikolaus, who traditionally visits on.... Dec 6th! :o)

Also, the entire month of November is celebrated as Movemeber in Canada. Men grow mustaches in order to raise money for prostate cancer research. My Colin grew a sexy beard, but the last 2 days of Movember we were graced with the 'stache.

Two weeks ago I was lucky enough to drive down for Thanksgiving. I'd been working so much and at first I was supposed to work over Thanksgiving (having had the "canadian" fake version off in Oct) but luckily my boss changed her mind and I went home (Thanks Allison!!). It was so good to see my family again! I was really missing my mom and dad :o)

{Grandpa instructing Dad with the turkey and Colin & Tom look on}

{Thanksgiving Dinner}

{Me and my sister-bride-to-be Amy}

Vancouver: Back in Town!

Back in Vancouver! 

Colin, sweetheart that he is, picked me up from the airport after a super long flight from Vienna and took me straight to the beach for a nice long walk in the evening sun. 

The next day we feasted at my favorite restaurant in Van - Jollys! Coconut Prawns mmmm. I sure did miss their indian food while I was away.

I couldn't seem to be able to get away from Vienna: Yummy lager at Trader Joe's. 

Couldn't escape Canada either. Colin took this shot of a car in the costco parking lot. License plate: Canada, eh?

Also, the amazing Celebration of Light is going on now in Vancouver. 

We saw the USA's firework show on Wednesday - here are some pictures from our vantage point near Kits Beach...

Vienna: Tschüssi BABA!

*I wrote this about a month ago and forgot to post it... so here it is now!


The first time I heard the term BABA, I thought someone had been trying to call me "baby". I know that "tschüss" means "bye" and so when followed by a BABA, I automatically thought... what? "Bye, baby?"  But no, alas, BABA also means "bye" and is extremely viennese. And as stupid as I thought it once was, I love-love-love it now.

Today is my last day in my apartment - I'm moving out at 6 pm and heading to my friend Monika's (with whom I'll co-teach in Semmering starting on Friday). So, to honor my last day in Vienna Proper, here's my "goodbye" list of what I'll miss and what I'll not so miss about living in the world's #1 city: Vienna, Austria.

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Likes:

• Public Transportation! The subway train (U-Bahn) is right outside my house and I can be pretty much anywhere in the city between 10-40 minutes. And anywhere a train doesn't go, there's a tram or a bus! Plus, I've never had to wait more than 6 minutes for a train - I know, spoiled!
• Coffee Houses! Vienna is well known for their coffee houses (Kaffeehäuser) and what's especially nice (besides the amazing atmosphere and history) is that buying one cup of coffee can earn you hours without being bothered by the waiter to pay... even if they're busy.
• The Opera and Museums! 
• Recycling! 
• The yoghurt! No gelatin making this yoghurt all clammy and whatnot. Best. Yoghurt. Ever. 
• So close to Eastern Europe!
• Speaking German!                

Dislikes:

• Smoking. Although there's a new law being implemented saying that cafes and restaurants must have a completely separate, partitioned area for smokers, you still find smokers (and their smelly cigarettes) all over. 
• Missing my friends and boyfriend. 
• Rude waiters and salespeople. 
• It takes SO long to get any paperwork processed. 

Semmering, Austria: SOAK

{Welcome to Semmering!}

From the 25th of June to the 3rd of July I am co-teaching an english class at the 12. Internationale Sommerakademie für hochbegabte Schülerinnen und Schüler (12th international summer academy for highly gifted students).

Our class is entitled "Battle of the Sexes: From Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew" to Edward Albee's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" I feel pretty lucky to co-teach, not only because of the great material (Shakespeare, Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Streetcar Named Desire, Revolutionary Road) but also because of the fantastic students!

  

{My awesome class}

I have been keeping a blog this week of what our class is doing each day... take a look! 

www.soakenglish2010.blogspot.com

Croatia: Nacionalni Park Plitvička Jezera

{We took the red path... 6 hours!}

"Proclaimed a national park in 1949, the Plitvice lakes region is among the most valuable features of natural interest in Croatia and indeed the world. The national park extends over an area of 29,482 hectares, 22,302 of which are forested. Water covers 217 hectares and grassy areas and villages another 6,957. The high forests sometimes take on the character of a virgin forest, with a corresponding richness of fauna and luxuriance of vegetation. Tucked away in this forest-covered karst landscape are 16 blue and green lakes, large and small, one underneath another. They are linked together with foaming cascades and pounding waterfalls, and are supplied with water from numerous little brooks and streams.

During the millennia, the water has eroded and dissolved the rocks of its own course and beds; subsequently, with the help of particular species of moss and algae, the dissolved calcium carbonates have been sedimented out to create tufa or travertine, porous stone that is being created even today in conditions of continuing ecological balance. With the ongoing process of creation of the travertine, barriers grow up between one lake and another, so that new falls and cascades are constantly being created. The tufa coats and petrifies fallen trees in the lakes, constantly changing and enriching the beauty of them. The travertine forming process is biodynamic and thus and exceptionally interesting scientific phenomenon and a leading attraction. There are several caves in the lakes as well, and in the same area, archaeological remains from various times in the past have been found.

The Park contains the habitats of many species of bird, of the brown bear, wolves, red deer and roe deer, wild boar and wild cats, while the waters of the lakes are home to trout and crustaceans."

- excerpt from "Nacionalni Park Plitvička Jezera Izletnička Karta" OR "Plitvice Lakes National Park Tourist Map"  :o)
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We started our journey at Ulaz (entrance) #1 and had to hike pass Lakes Kaluderovac, Gavanovac and Milanovac to get to bus station #1. 

{Lake Milanovac}

{Colin and "Veliki Slap" or "The Big Waterfall"}

From there, we took the bus to bus station #2, where we went up to Hotel Jezero to drop off our bags and get some warm soup for lunch. Did I mention it was raining cats and dogs? 

{leaving rainy bus station #2}

After lunch, we braved the elements again and took the bus up to the top of the lakes to bus stop #4. There we dodged a tour group and took the path past Lake Batinovac. 

From Batinovac we came upon Lake Galovac, where the path bordered the water. There were no boardwalks there, so it was pretty muddy... but beautiful! 

{bundle up!}

Between Lake Galovac and the next lake, Gradinsko, there were many, many beautiful waterfalls. 

{me and Colin}

{some of the petrified trees}

{Jezero/Lake Gradinsko}

After following the boardwalk we came upon Boat Station #2. From there you could take a boat back to Bus Station #2 or over to Boat Station #3 to continue the hike. We of course took the boat about 15 minutes across Lake Kozjak. There were so many fish in the water! The ride was pretty cold (as we were underdressed... c'mon Croatia!) After the boat ride we had a snack at an amazingly old "eastern europe" cafe - the atmosphere was insane! Old communist sounding tunes on the radio and super gruff looking folk. It was great!

{Our boat – and the fish!}

After our warm-up snack of tea and strudel, we continued on our way past lake Milanovac, where we saw TONS of waterfalls! After Milanovac, we walked past Lake Gavanovac.

{Milanovački Slap/Waterfall}

{The teal waters of Lake Gavanovac}

{One of the caves off of Gavanovac}

{Boardwalks and Waterfalls}

{And one last look over Lake Kaluderovac at Veliki Slap - the big waterfall!}

After our 6 hour hike I was SO ready to get to our room for the night, get dry and get some dinner! Unfortunately we still have to walk a good 20 minutes to the nearby village of Mukinje (muk-in-ya). We stayed in a beautiful house run by a family. Nearby was a !-ski hill-! and had a fantastic restaurant (the only one around)... after a hot shower at home we went over and had the best pizza... and the place was hoppin! The owner/waiter was super friendly and we even had some dessert - crepes! After such a good dinner we came home, watched part of a Jackie Chan film and slept like babies! 

{Beautiful weather to take the bus to Split}

And that was our time in Plitvice Lakes! Croatia's hidden gem. :o) 

Why I promise never to drink coke again...

(*borrowed from http://blisstree.com/feel/what-happens-to-your-body-if-you-drink-a-coke-right-now/)

Have you ever wondered why Coke comes with a smile? Because it gets you high. They removed the cocaine almost 100 years ago. Why? It was redundant.

• In the first 10 minutes: 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system. (100% of your recommended daily intake.) You don’t immediately vomit from the overwhelming sweetness because phosphoric acid cuts the flavor, allowing you to keep it down.

• 20 minutes: Your blood sugar spikes, causing an insulin burst. Your liver responds to this by turning any sugar it can get its hands on into fat. (And there’s plenty of that at this particular moment.)

• 40 minutes: Caffeine absorption is complete. Your pupils dilate; your blood pressure rises; as a response, your liver dumps more sugar into your bloodstream. The adenosine receptors in your brain are now blocked, preventing drowsiness.

• 45 minutes: Your body ups your dopamine production, stimulating the pleasure centers of your brain. This is physically the same way heroin works, by the way.

• > 60 minutes: The phosphoric acid binds calcium, magnesium, and zinc in your lower intestine, providing a further boost in metabolism. This is compounded by high doses of sugar and artificial sweeteners also increasing the urinary excretion of calcium.

• > 60 minutes: The caffeine’s diuretic properties come into play. (It makes you have to pee.) It is now assured that you’ll evacuate the bonded calcium, magnesium, and zinc that was headed to your bones as well as sodium, electrolytes, and water.

• > 60 minutes: As the rave inside you dies down, you’ll start to have a sugar crash. You may become irritable and/or sluggish. You’ve also now, literally, pissed away all the water that was in the Coke. But not before infusing it with valuable nutrients your body could have used for things like hydrating your system, or building strong bones and teeth.

This will all be followed by a caffeine crash in the next few hours.


Here’s a quick snapshot of you, in a few years, after drinking Coke on a regular basis:

You’ll Be Fatter: According to research in the Nurse’s Health Study, which monitored the health of 90,000 women for eight years, drinking a single soda every day of the week added 10 pounds over a four-year period.

You’ll Probably Have Diabetes: In the Nurses’ Health Study, women who said they drank one or more servings a day of a sugar-sweetened soft drink or fruit punch were twice as likely to have developed type 2 diabetes during the study than those who rarely consumed these beverages.

You’re Much More Likely to Develop Heart Disease: According to a study published in 2007 in Circulation, the journal of the American Heart Association, subjects who drank a soda every day over a four-year period had a 25% chance of developing high blood sugar levels and a 32% greater chance of developing lower “good” cholesterol levels. The Nurses’ Health Study found that women who drank more than two sugary beverages per day had a 40% higher risk of heart attacks or death from heart disease than women who rarely drank sugary beverages.

You’re Probably Also Less Healthy In Other Ways: Several studies, including the 2007 study published inCirculation, suggest that diet sodas have some of the same effects on health as regular sodas, despite having none or very little of the sugar. Why? Drinking soda is typically part of an overall lifestyle that’s not very healthy: We know you don’t like us to compare drinking caffeine and sugar to substance abuse, but when it comes to your lifestyle, some think that soda is just like a gateway drug.

Slovenia: Eating my way through Ljubljana and Lake Bled

My good friend Miss Rachel Chonka and I felt it necessary to take a trip south of the border to Slovenia. Yes, the little country of Slovenia. Now, before this trip I didn't know much about this place, except that it was Eastern Europe and easily confused with Slovakia. But now, after a glorious (and rainy) four days, I feel that I've learned a lot about their history and culture - and also found out something quite surprising: THEY HAVE EXCELLENT FOOD!

Seriously! Rachel and I accumulated a few words of slovene while away and upon reflection, each had to do with food and/or restaurants. For example:

Dober den --- Good Day (as in, Good day, welcome to our restaurant)

Hvala --- Thank You (as in, Thank you for your order)

Prosim --- You're welcome AND please

Pivo --- Beer

Kava --- Coffee

Caj --- Tea

oh yeah.... and... Most --- Bridge (learned that one in Budapest)

Heehee. Anyway, I was so knocked out by the utterly delicious offerings of this amazing place, I decided to dedicate a whole blog post to it :o) Here are the highlights (most of the restaurants we visited were in our Lonely Planet, so I have the details... and yes, I took pictures of EVERYTHING I ate) ;o)

Cake and Tea at Cajna Hisa (Ljubljana). The name means Tea House and now we know why - we had some delicious tea there! (and cake... yum!)

A morning visit to Cajna Hisa was in order - the breakfast menu was just what the doctor ordered. Fried eggs with ham and cheese (and a nutty roll). All with a nice pot of Lapsang Souchong.

A hearty slovenian lunch at the Mayer Penzion in Lake Bled. Sausages, apples and a light cabbage salad was exactly what I needed after boating across the lake and wandering around a little island in the rain. Warmed me right up!

My favorite of all the food we tried. This bosnian restaurant in Ljubljana called Harambasa served only one thing: cevapi (small beefy sausages). You could get 5 of them, you could get 10, you could even get them made into a steak! They all come with bread (Lepinja) and an amazing (emphasis amazing) concoction of buttery cheesy butter stuff called Kajmak... which had the consistency of whipped cheese and the appearance of vanilla ice cream. To top it off, we shared a Baklava... the best I've ever tasted. Needless to say, we went to this restaurant twice. Bosnian food - TWO THUMBS UP!

Harambasa's (wisely) limited menu

A rainy afternoon visit to the National Gallery called for a pick-me-up at Kavarna Zvezda, one of Slovenia's top 5 cafes (according to Lonely Planet). After this strawberry cake, I was sure to agree!

Mexican Food! Dinner at the Cantina Mexicana was amazing... so much for such a little price! I got BBQ wings (couldn't help it!) and salad, rice and beans. I was so stuffed full of good food (and a good pina colada!) that we had to rest for a while in the warm, cosy mexican environment before braving the cold, rainy, eastern european weather outside.

And, on the way to the train, I grabbed a piece of Ljubljana's famous street food, Borek. You can have this pastry with meat or cheese inside. I forgot to get a picture since I was starving and had just hopped on the train, so I grabbed one off the net. Delectable!

Wow. Slovenia sure knew how to do food. Can't wait to see what Croatia has in store for me two weeks from now!

Salzburg: The Sound of Music

The weekend of May first I went with my friend Alice to Salzburg, where I got to do something that I've been waiting all year for: The Sound of Music Tour!!!! The real von Trapp family lived in Salzburg until 1938 and the film starring Julie Andrews (1965) was filmed there as well.

Before the tour, I didn't know much about the real von Trapp family. This is what I learned:

-There was a german movie called The Trapp Family (1956), which gave Rogers and Hammerstein the idea for a broadway musical.

-The german film was based on a memoir by Maria von Trapp entitled: The Story of the Trapp Family Singers

-Georg Ludwig von Trapp, was indeed anti-Nazi, and did in fact live with his family in a villa in a district of Salzburg called Aigen, however the palace depicted in the film is a great exaggeration of their actual living situation.

-Originally, Maria had been hired only to be a governess to young Maria who had come down with scarlet fever and needed her lessons at home.

-Maria and Georg had been married 10 years before the Anschluss and had two of their three children before that time.

-The seven children depicted in the film were actually nine, with the Captain and Maria's children, it brought the number to twelve.

-Unlike in the film, Georg had considered a position in the Kriegsmarine but ultimately did decide to emigrate with his family to Italy to go on yet another singing tour.

-The Anschluss occurred in March, however the Salzburg Music Festival is held in June, therefore the family could not have piggybacked their festival performance into an escape before the borders closed.

-The bell cord on the real Nonnberg Abbey is strictly a prop and rings nothing, however the Abbey liked it anyway and requested it be left by the film crew.

-While the film shows the von Trapp family hiking over the Alps from Austria to Switzerland, from Salzburg this is impossible. Salzburg is only a few kilometres away from the Austrian–German border and is much too far from either the Swiss or Italian borders for a family to escape by walking. Had the von Trapps hiked over the mountains they would have in all likelihood ended up in Germany near the Kehlsteinhaus, Hitler's mountain retreat in Berchtesgaden.

-As Georg was born in an area of Austria that had been under Italian control at the time, he was considered an Italian citizen and therefore, so were all his family, including Maria. Therefore, all they really had to do was walk to the local train station and board the next train to Italy, from which they fled to London and ultimately the United States (Vermont)

We had a very good tour (which lasted just over 4 hours). During that time, we visited Here are some highlights:

Alice and our tour bus, ready to roll

Alice and I aboard the bus. (Notice my "Birgitte" hairdo)

Me and Alice in front of Leopoldskron Castle: where the children were boating and fell into the lake... also where Rolfe threw stone's against Liesl's window ;o)

With Liesl's Gazebo at Hellbrunn Castle gardens.

"I am 16 going on 17"...

St. Gilgen and Lake Wolfgang from the opening scenes. This lake is part of the Salzkammergut (Salt lakes district)... and was a favorite vacation spot of the Mozarts!

The church in Mondsee where the film von Trapps were married.

The Untersberg: where the opening shots of "The Hills Are Alive" were shot.

The line of trees from the scene where the children (in their curtain play-clothes) hang from the trees. :o)

The Mirabell gardens at Castle Mirabell in Salzburg. This is where the montage for the song "Do-Re-Mi" was made. Remember when they walked along the edge of the circular fountain? Here it is! The Pegasus Fountain!

The little statue that the children tap on the head while singing the overture to "Do-Re-Mi!"

"Do-so-fa-la-ti-do-re...."

"Fa.... a longer way to run"....

Alice at Nonnberg Abbey, Maria's Abbey and where she, in the opening scenes, runs too late into the courtyard. (The real von Trapps were married here in 1927)