Hello everyone!

Autumn has come to Germany. The temperatures have dropped off significantly, and it rains alot. However, when the rain clears away and the sun comes out, then it is really nice. The deep orange sunlight makes everything glow like it was made of gold and the trees turn a wide variety of colours. With this backdrop, we headed to Heidelberg a couple of weeks ago. Carola's family was meeting there for a ball. A few of Carola's friends came too, which was nice (one I had previously met in St Louis).

Heidelberg has be almost completly preserved as it was spared from widespread boming during the war. The story is that an American pilot had been to Heidelberg before and absolutley forbid that it be bombed because he knew how pretty it was. It still is.




After our busy weekend in Heidelberg, we had a couple of weekends to our own devices here in Frankfurt. It has been nice to just relax and get to know the city. Last Sunday it was so nice out that we just had to get out in the sun and go for a walk along the river Main.


There was a guy out in his row boat and it looked like he was having a wonderful time. I could see myself enjoying rowing. There are a couple of rowing clubs along the river and they have races in the summer.

We walked north up to the river, as we live on the south side of Frankfurt. Then we crossed the river and walked on the north bank. It was very nice there as the sun was shining intensely and also reflecting off the river. There were many people out enjoying the sun, lying on the park benches and playing with their kids. Right before we headed back to the south side of the river, I found a point where the tree leaves framed the tower of the Dom Church quite well. The Dom church is one of the oldest churches in Frankfurt.










I was really missing seeing the leaves change in Colorado, so it was nice to get out and get some kind of a fall experience.











The Book Fair

The day before our walk along the river, we went to the world's largest book fair. I had imagined something like rows and rows of old books with rows and rows of boring quiet Germans. It turned out the opposite was true. All the proof I need is the picture below:


There were all kind of people dressed up like their favourite book characters. It was a real party atmosphere. They had 78,218 people come over the weekend that we were there. We visited the hall that held the publishers of english langauge books. It was about the size of 5 football fields. And everywhere everyone was speaking english. It was strange for me. We also ended up finding the Estonian section, and had a wonderful time looking at all the Estonian books. The Estonians had a good laugh at my now very rusty Estonian.

Last weekend, the weather was wonderful and Carola and I had a wonderful time just wondering around and exploring the city a little bit. The weather was a bit cool, but it was very sunny and the air was full of fall smells. We decided that it would be a crime to be indoors on such a weekend, so we decided to go to the zoo.







The zoo is rather small, but it has a good selection of animals, and it is under renovation, and should be quite nice in a few years. I brought my new camera with the long lens so I could get some good photos of the animals. This was particularly true for the tigers.



Carola and I ate lunch near the monkeys they liked to run around and always look what is going on.

























The baby monkeys were very very cute and swinging around everywhere.








The past few days have not been nearly so nice - at least with the weather. But the other morning, as I was getting ready to go to work, came a huge double-rainbow outside our window. Carola noticed it, and I ran to get my camera. Here is the photo.








A few weeks ago, Carola and I went to go check out hotels in the town where our wedding reception will be, Chieming. Below is the reception hall.




We also got to look at the church were we want to get married. The church has yet to answer as to whether or not they are free that weekend, but we hope that this will be the place.

Well, I know it has been a long time since I have updated this blog, but they say better late than never. Things have been going along quite nicely here since I last wrote. Now Carola and I are settled here in Frankfurt. We have a very comfortable one-bedroom apartment here on the south side of the river in Sachsenhausen. I have about a 6-7 minute commute to work every morning on my bike. I ride over the Main River and get to see the morning sun shining on the skyline of Frankfurt. All and all it is quite nice.

Work is going quite well. I have always had the temperament to want to know everything as soon as I can. But at work, there is so much to get to know, this process is just going to take a while, and I have to sometimes take a deep breath and take things in little steps. But it is all quite normal for a first “real” job. The good news is that I enjoy what I am doing, and I am learning a lot. That is all I can really ask. Oh, and I am getting paid, that is also something that is really good. Yesterday I moved from a cubicle into an office that I share with Marco. We both work on Market Intelligence stuff. Given the craziness of the economy in the USA, I am glad to have a job, wherever I end up living. Plus it is a job I enjoy. I am not sure that I could find that in America right now.

Things have been a bit crazy the past few weeks with getting settled into a new job and a new apartment. However, I think now that things have calmed down a bit, I can have a bit more time to update this blog and make it into something quite nice. That is my hope anyway; sometimes life has a way of getting crazy again.

I miss Colorado. I think fall might be the hardest time to be away. I cant wait to stand again on a fence-rail or a mountain top and see so far it seems like I can see half the world. I miss that, and a million other things. I guess the hardest thing to get used to here is the density of the population. There are people everywhere, and anywhere in public it is hard to excape people. But part of the problem is that I have not had the time or the knowledge about how to get out of Frankfurt. I am looking forward to finding some hiking trails or national parks where Carola and I can go hiking on the weekends. What I do like about Frankfurt is that it is surrounded by what they call a „green belt“ of forest area. A few weeks ago Carola and I rode our bike through it and it was really nice.

As for the next few weeks, wedding preparations continue. Also I am going to try and get my German drivers license. Normally the license costs around $2,000. And I will get it for much less because they recognize the validity of my Colorado license.

In a rare moment during the preparations for out engagement party, I was able to take a break and just relax for a minute.


Grandma couldn't help but lend a hand cleaning up the dishes after our 'hangover breakfast' after our engagement party. Fortunately, I got a little bit of her spirit in me, because I also can't seem to stay away where there are things to be done. It was really nice to have her and my parents there. I know Carola's family really really enjoyed getting to know them. And they were very impressed with Grandma's determination, courage and fitness with regard to coming all the way to Germany to visit them.



The photo above shows Carola in front of our apartment this morning. I know, this is really recent for this blog, but here it is! Carola normally locks her bike on this post. The main door to our apartment is behind the white wall next to the green trash cans. To the right is the cafe that operates below us.


Today was a really sunny and great day. This is the street where we live. Affentorplatz. I means Monkey Tower Square in German. Everything here is kept really clean, as the city cleaners come by every morning and sweep up all the trash. It is very nice to see.


Carola and I went into the city proper to get some things this morning and as we were crossing the bridge to head back to our apartment, I took this photo from the bridge that crosses the river. The tallest building is the Commerzbank building.



Our shower. Enough said.


We were lucky and had a washing machine come with the apartment. I had to fix the plug so that it could actually plug into the wall, but then it works just fine.



This is our living room. It is not much, but it quite comfortable and it is very comfortable and really nice to come home to after a long day at work.


This is our dining room/kitchen. It is small and cozy, but it is quite nice. We both worked hard on refurbishing this round kitchen table.


The view outside our bedroom (and kitchen) window is quite nice for Frankfurt. We can see the sun set, which I like. I love being able to see so far.


This is my new bike. It sits out in the stairwell, locked of course. It is amazingly comfortable to ride, and the best thing is that it had no gas tank. Also, it is super light which is good carrying up the stairs.


Another cool thing about my bike is that, you may notice, it does not have any reflectors in the spokes of the wheels. Instead, the tires have built-in reflectors in them. I love my bike!



And for our last photo, we have the picture of Colorado. This was painted by Carola's grandpa in Colorado in 1944-ish. He was a POW down in Trinidad. Home of the Trinidadio Blues Festival.


Well, I don't have anything more right now, but I hope to be able to update this more often. Time for me to sign off and say goodbye. I hope to see you all in Colorado for Thanksgiving!

Well, well, well. It has been quite the busy weekend. It all started on Thursday, when Carola had her next-to-last exam up in Munich. We started off from Oberaudorf, and headed to the train station to catch the train to Munich. However, the trains were not going for some reason. We called Carola's grandmother, and she quickly came to pick us up and take us to the train station in Rosenheim. From there we could take the next train to Munich. However, that train was running a bit late too. So, time was getting short for Carola to get to the University in time for her exam. The train we were on went into the Munich main train station. We pushed our way to the front of this train so we would have less ground to cover once we got off. The door opened and we were on our way, sprinting through the crowds. We ran underground, hoping to catch the subway to Marienplatz, the downtown area of Munich. We had luck, and got on a train just as it was leaving the main station. Then, we got off at Marienplatz, and had to sprint down an escalator even further underground. Now, in order not to get in trouble, Carola had to validate our tickets. I ran ahead to see if I could hold up the subway train. We had luck again and there was a train just sitting there with the doors open. However they started to shut just as Carola was sprinting toward the train. I held the doors open as best I could and somehow we both squeezed through and exploded into the train car, welcomed by a few wide-eyed German commuters. All the effort payed off, and Carola arrived at her exam five minutes early!!

After Carola got a good grade on her exam (I have to brag), we met her Grandma. We went to a cafe for tea, coffee and cake!! I am told this cafe has some of the best cakes in Munich. I tasted them and I think it is possible. Carola ate a strawberry cake (Jenna: Erdbeeretorte) with a big smile on her face.

Then, while Carola went to go talk with her other professor, I got a guided tour of Munich from Carola's grandma. It was really nice and I got to learn alot of the history and meaning behind the buildings, parks and shops. Everything was in German too, which was really good for me.

After Carola was done with her professor, she met us at Marienplatz. Now it was time for her to meet some friends for a bachelorette party. I stayed with her long enough to meet with some girls and then I left to get on the underground train to meet an old Estonian friend who now lives out in the suburbs of Munich. I found her ok, and I got to see a part of Munich that I had never seen before. This is an area that is mainly state-subsidized student and low-income housing. All in all it is quite nice and nothing like what one imagines inner-city US cities to be like. I had a nice dinner and walk with Liis, and we caught up on what each other has been doing, and then it was time to head back into Munich proper.

Carola was having too good of a time to come back to Rosenheim with me, so she decided to spend the night in Munich and come to Rosenheim in the morning.

We had a nice day hanging out with Magnus, who has just gotten back from Ireland. Friday night we went to the Polterabend for Carola's friend. The Polterabend is a tradition in Germany. It is a reception for friends and family that is generally held the night before the wedding. People bring all kinds of porcelain - plates, cups, dishes, and even sometimes a toilet or sink - and they smash it on the front steps of the engaged couple. The couple then has to clean up the broken pieces. Carola and I brought two plates and we smashed them for good luck. If you smash glass, it bring bad luck.

After all the smashing was done we had BBQ and pot-luck. Carola and I made cookies. They were a big hit. Everyone loved them. I just used the Tollhouse recipe off the internet. The only chocolate chips I could find were in little tiny bags and intended for placing on the top of a cake (why else would they have such a small box of them ;) ). No big bags of chocolate chips here.

Then, after we woke up the next morning, it was Carola's birthday!!!! Magnus was really thoughtful and he got the breakfast table ready for Carola with a newspaper, tea, and decorations. She was indeed the birthday girl. Then Walter and Nora came, and we had a really nice relaxing time. We went into Rosenheim, did some shopping, and came back and played a board game.

The next day was busy, but nice. We got a train ticket that allows for unlimited travel for 5 people, and so we went for a hike above Oberaudorf. It was really nice to get outside, and it was a great sunny day. The Alps were clear and we could see all the mountains in Austria as well. The bad news is that the Alps are alot more crowded than the Rocky Mountains, however, the good news is that when you get to the top, there is usually a nice lady waiting to serve you a cold beer. On the way down we took a luge that runs all the way to the bottom of the hill. It was a ton of fun - I can't wait to do it again. Magnus and I raced to the top of the jungle-gym and then we went to go meet Carola's grandma. She was very very happy to see Magnus, as he has been in Ireland for the past six-months. We had a nice time there, and then headed back to Rosenheim to watch the European Cup final, German v. Spain.

It was a hot summer day, and I have never seen so many German flags. They were everywhere. In America flags everywhere usually means fireworks and hot dogs and parades. In Germany, it means that there is about to be an important football game. So, along with a few thousand of our friends, we headed in to downtown Rosenheim. We walked through Max Joseph Platz where there was a live band and thousands of football fans waiting to watch the game on a huge outdoor screen. We were not up for such things and headed to a small beer garden instead. They also (of course) had a tv where we could watch the game. It was a fun, festive atmosphere - until Spain scored their first goal. Then it became really clear which team was the better team as Germany could hardly get any shots on goal.

After the game we got the last train back to Oberaudorf, and Nora and Walter headed back to Kufstein, Austria continuing on the same train line. There were big thunderhead coming over the mountains and Carola and I got home just before the skies opened up. It was nice to have some relief from the heat of the day.

Now today was much more relaxed. I just did some research and read a bit. Carola is back studying hard for her final exam on Friday. More about that later.

Last weekend was the Langenpfunzen beer festival. I had gone to it last year, and it was nice to see things repeat again. All the locals got dressed up in their lederhosen and dirndl. It was a very nice time and Carola's brother, Walter and his girlfriend, Nora, were also there. Each of the beers served is one liter - so no light drinking allowed.

Well, I am now sitting here in Oberaudorf, in southern Germany. I have recently accepted a contract with the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management. I will be working for their microfinance spin-off, the European Fund for Southeast Europe, or EFSE. This is where I did my internship last summer, so it is not anything so new, and it will be nice to already know some people when I start.

This is an article from the Financial Times about EFSE: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/9114deb4-33e1-11dd-869b-0000779fd2ac.html

...and in German:
http://www.ftd.de/karriere_management/karriere/:Neu%20Handelsroute/370597.html


Above is a picture of where I will be working.




However, despite all this progress, I still need to get a work visa. And due to the way the system works, it could be as late as mid-August before I start. So now I have a bit of a vacation time, which has been great. I can spend some time with Carola while she is working hard on her final exams. It looks like she will be done on the 4th of July. So if you see some fireworks on that day it is most likely us celebrating the fact that Carola and I are both done with school now.

As for Oberaudorf, it is a small village tucked here in the shadows of the Bavarian Alps. It is really nice to be out of Denver and in a small town where the pace is a little less hectic and everyone knows everyone else. Everything is really safe here and everyone looks after one another. It is really nice. To the left is a photo I took of the house where I am living. It is Carola's aunt's house. Her Aunt Renate is currently living for a year in Scotland with her family, so Carola is house-sitting while she is studying for her exams. The house is situated quite nicely next to a big hay-meadow. In the photo you can see the wood stacked under the carport in front of the house. It seems to be much more common for people to heat their houses with wood here. The main Catholic church for the village is just off to the left. The priest of this church is the one who led Carola's trip to Israel last year.