Hope all of you had a happy start into the new year - may all your wishes and goals come true!
We enjoyed two weeks in Texas...and returned last night. Pics and stories to come soon.
All the best,
Ines and Carlo
Sunday, 6 January 2008
Wednesday, 19 December 2007
Christmas Spirit Alive & Well!!!
Recently, Carlo's cousin Stefania and her husband Alessandro from Sicily spent a few days with us in Munich. Alessandro's parents were in town as well. They live in Sicily, but his mom has relatives in the area. We scoured the Christmas markets for Bratwurst, Kartoffelpuffer, Wuerstel of any kind. They were crazy for the Currywurst as well!!! Stefania found some unique Christmas presents for her family and friends and Alessandro stocked up on more sausage! :-)
It happened to be Stefania's birthday that weekend and we celebrated with a typical bavarian dinner at the "Spatenhaus" across from the historic Opera, which you see in one of the group pictures... This restaurant has a lovely interior with painted wooden paneling and many pieces of traditional art, including wood carvings, photos, and paintings.
We had a really great time together and wished they would visit more often.
It happened to be Stefania's birthday that weekend and we celebrated with a typical bavarian dinner at the "Spatenhaus" across from the historic Opera, which you see in one of the group pictures... This restaurant has a lovely interior with painted wooden paneling and many pieces of traditional art, including wood carvings, photos, and paintings.
We had a really great time together and wished they would visit more often.
Thursday, 6 December 2007
Legally-blond and driving!
Finally: Ines received her german drivers license! After many months of paperwork, studying, driving classes and roughly 700Euros later, I finally received my drivers license one week ago to the day!!!
Technically, my California license was only good for the first six months of being in Germany. After six months of arriving in Germany with a non-European drivers license - your right to operate a vehicle expires! I had signed up with a driving school in July who administers the written as well as the practical exam. It really is a completely different situation as in the US... especially the price! After roughly 6 driving classes, which according to my Tunisian instructor named Mohammed, were necessary to "come down from my driving level"...I was admitted to take the practical exam. Mohammed was so busy that sometimes weeks passed until I could get an appointment and the test last Wednesday seemed to loom over me like a dark cloud. There were so many horror stories I had heard about the german driving exam! A middle-aged woman right ahead of me on testing day actually failed the test and the instructor was not pleased at all! Lucky for me, the guy from the testing agency was mild mannered and I didn't even have to do any parking maneuvers. Admittedly, driving in Munich with its many narrow, one-way streets can be a harrowing experience as pedestrians and bicyclist are darting across the street like squirrels. I was glad to have guided the vessel (with a diesel engine) through the maze of pedestrians, bikes and parked cars without incident.
I was told that I would receive my new license right away, yet I was only handed a paper with the assurance of receiving it the next day. The office I was supposed to pick it up at was only open from 7AM-Noon, so I decided to be there as early as possible to avoid lines.
It happened to be a chilly morning with snow still piled up on the roadside. Ignorantly, I rode my bike to the department of public safety to pick up the long-awaited card. It was not all that far, yet facing the misty, foggy morning with temps slightly above freezing, the trip seemed never ending! Half-frozen, I arrived and was told that there was a mistake on my license and that it would take another 2 weeks for them to produce a new one! OH NO!! It could not be true! Being seriously dissapointed at this point, I was sent to another clerk in order to have this mistake corrected.
The lady, bless her heart, overruled the previous clerk and assured me that the license was fine as is!
Basically, the issue of dispute was the fact that it was nowhere mentioned on the license that I indeed was not a beginner, yet had been operating a car for 15 years! This could pose a problem for me as a newly issued license would include 2 years of probation for the driver, if a beginner. She assured me I would not have to go through probation. I hope she is right...
After all the back and forth and my frustration building, I was finally handed over the precious card and was also returned my original California license, which had been in their posession for months! Yipee!!! It was like seeing an old friend after a long time of absence....
So that's the story...and I am finally allowed to drive with a clear conscience and most importantly-legally!
Technically, my California license was only good for the first six months of being in Germany. After six months of arriving in Germany with a non-European drivers license - your right to operate a vehicle expires! I had signed up with a driving school in July who administers the written as well as the practical exam. It really is a completely different situation as in the US... especially the price! After roughly 6 driving classes, which according to my Tunisian instructor named Mohammed, were necessary to "come down from my driving level"...I was admitted to take the practical exam. Mohammed was so busy that sometimes weeks passed until I could get an appointment and the test last Wednesday seemed to loom over me like a dark cloud. There were so many horror stories I had heard about the german driving exam! A middle-aged woman right ahead of me on testing day actually failed the test and the instructor was not pleased at all! Lucky for me, the guy from the testing agency was mild mannered and I didn't even have to do any parking maneuvers. Admittedly, driving in Munich with its many narrow, one-way streets can be a harrowing experience as pedestrians and bicyclist are darting across the street like squirrels. I was glad to have guided the vessel (with a diesel engine) through the maze of pedestrians, bikes and parked cars without incident.
I was told that I would receive my new license right away, yet I was only handed a paper with the assurance of receiving it the next day. The office I was supposed to pick it up at was only open from 7AM-Noon, so I decided to be there as early as possible to avoid lines.
It happened to be a chilly morning with snow still piled up on the roadside. Ignorantly, I rode my bike to the department of public safety to pick up the long-awaited card. It was not all that far, yet facing the misty, foggy morning with temps slightly above freezing, the trip seemed never ending! Half-frozen, I arrived and was told that there was a mistake on my license and that it would take another 2 weeks for them to produce a new one! OH NO!! It could not be true! Being seriously dissapointed at this point, I was sent to another clerk in order to have this mistake corrected.
The lady, bless her heart, overruled the previous clerk and assured me that the license was fine as is!
Basically, the issue of dispute was the fact that it was nowhere mentioned on the license that I indeed was not a beginner, yet had been operating a car for 15 years! This could pose a problem for me as a newly issued license would include 2 years of probation for the driver, if a beginner. She assured me I would not have to go through probation. I hope she is right...
After all the back and forth and my frustration building, I was finally handed over the precious card and was also returned my original California license, which had been in their posession for months! Yipee!!! It was like seeing an old friend after a long time of absence....
So that's the story...and I am finally allowed to drive with a clear conscience and most importantly-legally!
Friday, 23 November 2007
St. Petersburg - DAY 3 - The Hermitage
Tuesday marked the third full day in St. Petersburg and we had planned to visit the Winterpalace which houses the hermitage which is one of the largest and most important art collection in the world. Besides the very ornate and richly decorated palace itself we were able to view works by DaVinci, Michelangelo, Rafael, Matisse, Renoir, Degas, Gaugin, etc... The sheer size and beauty of the palace itself was mindboggling. Many russian Zsars had called the winterpalace home, which had been built by largely Italian architects, yet had been constantly changed and expanded. A fire destroyed it almost completely. It was rebuilt for many years.
The weather that day was amazingly sunny and bright. It allowed us to view the art collections and treasures with sunlight streaming through the large windows!
The weather that day was amazingly sunny and bright. It allowed us to view the art collections and treasures with sunlight streaming through the large windows!
St. Petersburg - DAY 2 - Walk around town
The day after the wedding we met with Carlo's family for a walking tour around the center of St. Petersburg and its many churches and historic buildings. Only the weather could have been a bit warmer...but besides the weather there was nothing that could have spoiled this day! What a wonderful city! Especially at night, the main drag (Nevskjy Prospekt) is wonderfully lit up with countless lights on each building.
That night everybody met at an Italian restaurant where we celbrated Carlo's last evening with the family, since he had to catch a flight back to Munich very early the next morning.
That night everybody met at an Italian restaurant where we celbrated Carlo's last evening with the family, since he had to catch a flight back to Munich very early the next morning.
St. Petersburg, Russia - DAY 1 - The Wedding
The wedding of Carlo's brother, Luciano, took us all the way to St. Petersburg, Russia last weekend!!! We didn't know what to expect from the city, its people and the weather... We were positively surprised on all accounts!!!
First I would like to post some pictures and will then get around to describing our stay in more detail....
So, here you go:
First I would like to post some pictures and will then get around to describing our stay in more detail....
So, here you go:
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