Christmas markets!

Last weekend, December 1st-2nd, my friends and I had a double date christmas market weekend! Christmas markets are a huge deal here in Germany and last the whole month of December. They have stalls offering hand made ornaments and things like that, awesome food, and gluhwein- which is "mulled wine" or hot wine - and its fantastic, and helps keep you warm! we went to Nurnberg christmas market on Saturday the 1st. It is the biggest in Germany and the most famous in the world, so it had to be done, but it was not a favorite. It was lovely, but extremely over-crowded. We couldn't see any of the stalls or enjoy any of it because the whole market was essentially a mosh pit of asians and over weight tourists. It was a nice day and i'm glad I checked it off the list but I wouldn't go back. 

The next day, Sunday, we decided to go to Guteneck christmas market - which I have heard wonderful things about from friends here. It was about an hour away from where we live and the drive was beautiful with all the snow on the trees- its a winter wonderland over here! This christmas market is mideval themed and at the base of a castle. Many people were dressed in Mideval attire, and It was not crowded at all. It was the best day ever. I want to live there. As you will see in these photos- we had way too much fun. The boys rode camels!

Back to Budapest.

Budapest. I have been avoiding writing this because of the enormity of the topic. Budapest is the softest place in my heart. In the summers of 2006 and 2007 I spent weeks there teaching children's english camps and I was changed in every way. I met people who became a part of who I am, and learned who I am and who I want to be. Those two summers began the adventure I am continuing now. It is difficult to put into words what happened those summers, but I know I was deeply changed, I became something new. 

During my first trip to Budapest in 2006 I met a beautiful girl named Edina. We quickly became close friends and shared a few weeks of incredible healing and restoration that created a strong bond. Saying goodbye to her at the end was tearful and heartbreaking. The next summer was just as wonderful and even more difficult to say goodbye. 

In the years since, I have thought of Budapest, my time there, and Edina so very often. The memories are ingrained in my heart and I am who I am now because of these trips. When I was given the opportunity to live in Germany, the first thing I did after I immediately said yes was google maps how far to Budapest from Germany. It took me longer to get there than I expected, but I made it back. 

Over thanksgiving I took a train from Nurnberg-Budapest. The train ride was long but not too bad. I arrived into Budapest to Edina and her new husband Andras singing and playing the guitar for me, and my heart was home. Over the three days I got to spend there I became re-aquatinted with the city and spent some precious time with my sweet friend catching up on the past 6 years of our lives -including her marriage to Andras- who gets the thumbs up from me. I got to watch Edina and Andras lead worship at their baptist youth group church on the Saturday night before I returned "home" to Germany. The trip was refreshing and awakening for me, and there were no tearful goodbyes this time around because I will be back in Budapest in a month with my brother over Christmas! 

A few of the girls in the group with Edina- Budapest 2006 

Edina and I 2007 (top) then 2012 (bottom)

Andras!

Can't wait to be back in just a few weeks! 

"Alone"

Friend: what are you up to this weekend?
Me: oh, I’m just going to Cinque Terre, no big deal.
Friend: WOW! Awesome! Who are you going with?
Me: myself.
Friend: oh. Really? I’m sorry, well…. try to have fun anyway!

I have had this conversation what seems like hundreds of times with friends, family, and complete strangers. I don’t want to sound like I’m bashing the people that can’t understand that I love to travel alone. I didn’t understand it fully until very recently. Just two years ago if I wanted to go to the beach and none of my friends could go, I’d just stay home. Heck, if I wanted to go to target and none of my friends could go I would stay home. But something profound has happened since I moved 4,721 miles away from everyone I have ever known or loved.

The first few trips I took by myself I dreaded it a little bit. Not the actual trip but the going alone. It sounded so depressing and sad and I would even try to hide the fact that I was traveling alone because I thought it made me look like a loser. But the amount of satisfaction and pride I had in myself after my first weekend trip is indescribable. In my next few trips alone I began to realize that i enjoyed my time alone. I enjoyed being able to go where I wanted to go when I wanted to, and see what I wanted to see when I wanted to see it. I would find myself at dinner alone smiling to myself realizing that I’m legitimately having fun.

In my time alone, I fell in love with countless cities and myself. I have met incredible people whom I would never have met had I been traveling in a group. After a few trips with friends here, I even noted that while I do love having friends and family to travel with, I almost prefer going alone. It’s a completely different travel experience.

What I am trying to say here is don’t for a second feel bad for me. I don’t travel “alone”. I travel. I wander. I get lost in the beauty of cities, towns and landscapes with a huge smile on my face. I am never alone. I meet fellow wanderers and hear stories of far away places. I learn from them and they learn from me. Occasionally, we swap contact information and keep in touch, sometimes even see each other again. But sometimes, I spend the whole day with someone and at the end we hug and wish each other well, never to meet again.

Being from Atlanta, I have always had the tendency to avoid strangers at all costs, either for my safety, or just to avoid awkwardness. It is understandable, because in the states, strangers are scary. They have the possibility to either hurt you or at the very least just be very unkind, simply because you too are a stranger. So when I first began traveling in Europe and strangers would talk to me, my instinct was to avoid eye contact and be rude until they went away. Then at some point I realized that as a culture, people here don’t have any interest in hurting others. Their crime rates are ridiculously low. The most common crime is theft, and even then, it is never their intention to physically harm the person they are stealing from. When I realized all of this, my world opened in a big way.

Here, as travelers, we’re already in a club together. Our shared heart for adventure has brought us to beautiful places and to each other. Its as if we all have an agreement to greet other travelers with kindness, because we know each person we meet on the road has a story, and something to teach us.

So, please, don’t feel bad for me, or think I’m missing a thing. 

Adventure is out there.

"The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea."

Karen von Blixen-Finecke

I've had an itch to go to the beach since... well, since I got back from the beach a few months ago. I'm departing today to go to Cinque Terre, Italy and hike through the 5 villages. I am all packed and ready. I'm just waiting until it's time to go. As i was just sitting on my bedroom floor smiling at my packed traveler's backpack like a child on christmas morning waiting to rip open the first present, it occurred to me that this may be one of my favorite parts of travel. The few hours before it begins when I'm packed and ready to go. When I know where I'm going but I'm not sure what adventures await me. Anything could happen. This could be the most incredible trip of my life. I could meet new friends, share stories from the road, bond over a shared intoxication with new places and things, have all the pasta, tiramisu, and wine i want and still lose weight.  Or I could fall off a cliff, get food poisoning, sit next to a 400lb european man that hasn't showered in 3 weeks for 9 hours on a train. Its all up in the air and that's a beautiful thing. 

A Saturday ride.

Winter in Bavaria generally begins in early October so I am trying to squeeze in as much time on my bike outside as possible before it's too cold! I know of a few routes here that I generally use but I wanted to do something different today so i went in the opposite direction I normally go in. Normally, I go from Netzaberg toward Eschenbach and Speinshart. Today I went toward Graffenwohr and Pressath. It was a bit cold but nice enough. The trees are all turning and it smelled like fall. The trail was awesome, mom would have loved it. It was generally flat and gorgeous. The Germans are very good about having bike paths in place as alternatives to driving. I went all the way to Pressath and back. It was about 18.5 miles round trip and I really enjoyed it! I think i'll do it again!

Oktoberfest 2012

The best way i could describe Oktoberfest to my dad was "its like the fair but with costumes and beer. lots of beer." That pretty much sums it up. Rides, food, games, beer, lederhosen and dirndl! This year I went with my friends Britny and Michael! it was fun! I got a new dirndl for the occasion :) I didn't take my good camera for fear of its safety so i apologize for the quality of the photos! enjoy! PROST!

Rothenburg and Nurnberg

My biggest challenge living here in Europe the past year has probably been loneliness. I have a great community here and I have met a lot of really incredible people and families that I genuinely cherish, however there is not anyone around here in a similar situation to me. While I do have a lot in common with the housewives around here and love their company, I don't actually have kids and i'm single so on weekends when my mom friends are out with their families i'm generally traveling alone- which isn't something I can complain about, I do still love it. Occasionally though I do really miss having friends in  my similar circumstances. I have a suspicion that my family at home was doing some serious praying on my behalf to be sent a friend- because while I was away this summer my new best friends Britny and Michael moved in down the street. They are close to my age and Britny is a nanny too. We have quickly become best friends and I am so, so thankful for them and all the fun we have.

This Saturday Britny and I went out on a girls day to do some shopping for oktoberfest next weekend! she needed to get her and Michael dirndl and lederhosen so we went to Rothenburg for a little sight seeing then to Nurnberg for shopping! I have been both places at least once before, but I love them both so much and it was almost like showing a friend around my hometown. I love Rothenburg's homey feel even though it is over run with large tour groups of old people and asians. Its just the cutest little town. Thanks Britny for the lovely day!

Munich, Salzburg, and Garmisch.

August 18th-20th 2012

"How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." 

In the days leading up to August 17th I saw as much friends and family as I could and said my goodbyes. I was, of course, heartbroken to be leaving again after a wonderful summer with the ones I love the most - but I was also excited to get back to my second home in Germany. It is a catch 22 really. When I am in GA my heart hurts for Germany, and when I am in Germany my heart hurts for GA. This is standard procedure, I hear, when one has two homes. Last August when I made the trek from Georgia to Germany for the first time it was a tearful goodbye. This year, I was just happy. Happy to have been in Georgia and happy to be returning to Germany. I am thankful for my time at home with my incredible family and family of friends and I am confident in enjoying my years away knowing that when I return I will still have a strong home spot with a huge support group of amazing people who shower me in love. I said goodbye with a smile not because I am happy to be leaving, but because I am happy to have been with you all. 

August 18th 2012

I arrived in Munich from ATL Early in the morning. I didn't get much sleep at all on the plane- I do not understand how people expect you to rest in such an uncomfortable and cramped position - but anyway, I got into Munich and spent the day walking around the market and doing some shopping for a new dirndl. I went to bed quite early and woke up in the middle of the night wide awake. Jet lag - yay! 

August 19th I woke up early and went to the hoptbahnhof to catch a train to Salzburg, Austria. It was just about a two hour train ride. I only took a backpack with some clothes for the night and carried it with me throughout the day. When i first arrived I saw the beautiful castle up on a huge hill and started walking towards it. It's 11 euro to ride the tram up the hill or you can walk it. Of course I walked up the mountain in 89 degree weather with a backpack and flip flops to avoid spending money. The view from the top was incredible though. After that I walked around the town some more. Salzburg is beautiful! I loved it. The next day I dropped by Garmisch. I think I did Garmisch wrong. Everything was kind of closed. I will have to go back during the winter or something maybe. The alps were gorgeous though. 

New York

August 4th-9th 2012

So one night me and my awesome friend Macy were at a party and she mentioned that she was heading back to school in NY soon and asked if i wanted to ride with her... and of course I did! We left the next morning and did a sort of road trip on the way. We stopped in Roanoak, Virginia and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and quite a few other places. While in NY we had a picnic in Central park with salads and Laudre, shopped around Brooklyn, went to Coney Island, The MET, ground zero, barcade, and a lot of awesome places to sit and see the skyline. It was awesome! Macy Rocks!

Beachin.

In July I went to Florida with my parents on our annual trip to Ormond beach. While we were there we wanted to try something new- and a friend of mine suggested we rent a kayak and take it out. So my dad and I did. We started off smooth and just went about a mile and we were just talking and cruising slowly along when my dad saw something towards the horizon... was it a shark? a dolphin? a bird? we decided to go check it out. We paddled as quickly as we could out towards the disturbance and realized about halfway there that it was dolphins and a lot of them. We paddled as hard as we could to get close to them and ended up right in the middle of a huge pod. Approximately 40-50 dolphins within 3 feet of our kayak. They gave us an awesome show- so much better than sea world. My dad and I laughed and sat amazed at the sight. We followed them for a good 15 minutes but they were heading away from shore and we couldn't get too far. We could have chased them all day. I am so thankful for the experience and for sharing it with my dad. 

The Walker family also makes an annual trip to Florida one town over from Ormond in Daytona. For the past 5 years or more our weeks at the beach have overlapped and I have had the privilege of spending some wonderful times with my best friend Ashten at the beach. When we were in high school we went to church camp at the beach in the summers and that week always fell on my birthday. At some point during high school- the summer of 05' I think - we started going out on the beach to watch the sunrise on my birthday. Now, we never make it to the beach for my actual birthday but we have continued to carry the tradition and watch the sunrise on the beach together when our vacations collide. Ashten and I hardly get to see each other now that I live in Germany and she is a busy student in Tennessee - but we have one of those rare friendships that is unaffected by time or space apart. I am so blessed by Ashten and our friendship and I look forward to at least 70 more years of sunrises.