Year: 2010

Hooray for Dollywood

In order to preempt what would surely become FAQs, there are two things I will make clear at the outset of this post: There really is a place called Dollywood. I really did go there. Jealous yet? You may share your boob jokes in the comments. —- There is a special little part of the … Read more

Checking in on Munich’s art students

My there was a lot going on in Munich this weekend. Drag queens were racing through Marienplatz. Anime aficionados were living it up in the English Garden. I managed to sleep through the Kocherlball for the third year in a row.

Sunday’s cool weather lured me out to see the student art show at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste. Munich’s art academy consists of two main buildings, one old and one new, and getting to wander around in them was half of the fun to me.

As expected for a student show, there was definitely a fair number of duds on display, but a lot of delightful pieces could be found amongst the various exhibition rooms. I was especially impressed with how many works really made me laugh (with them, not at them). Modern German art isn’t exactly known for displaying a sense of humor.

The lawn of the Old Building was spotted with boards for one to poke one’s head through and be photographed. (Do you know what I’m talking about? Why is there no actual word for these things?) Collectively titled “Extreme Situations of Human Existence,” these particular head-cutout-boardy-thingies allowed you to try on the role of combat soldier, 1000-pound man, or crucified Jesus, among other fun stuff.

Read moreChecking in on Munich’s art students

That foreign feeling: ten years in Europe

Warning: this post is going to gaze squarely at my navel. Like, even more than your average post on a personal blog. I apologize in advance.

As of this summer, I have spent ten years of my life in Europe – ten out of the last fifteen, with five international (plus a few domestic) moves in that time period. I’ve changed cities on average about every two years.

I feel like I should reflect on this milestone, about how I’ve chosen to live my adult life. But what is there to say? I like living in Europe. I’m OK with being a foreigner. I could try to say something deeper than that, but I’ve never been one for sentimentality. So I’ve spent most of my adult life as an outsider looking in. That’s not so odd, given I spent most of my childhood feeling foreign, too.

I’ve been a little bit foreign almost as long as I can remember. When I was a child our little nuclear family moved from New Jersey to the Deep South. My first indication that this was a bigger deal than our move from one street in the neighborhood to the other was on the airplane. It was an early-morning Delta flight, back when airlines still served food and Delta was still Southern. Breakfast consisted of biscuits smothered in white, gooey, gelatinous ickiness with little specks in it. I looked at my mother questioningly.

Read moreThat foreign feeling: ten years in Europe

A quick Italy fix in Udine

On our way back from Croatia we broke up the driving by spending a night in Udine, Italy.

We didn’t have much time there, but we managed to squeeze in two meals, two gelatos, and a lovely aperitivo while people-watching on a busy square (ie, all the essentials of a great Italy trip).

We had dinner at the charming and casual Al Vecchio Stallo, where we learned that Friuli offers up dishes just as yummy as those from Italy’s other regions

Read moreA quick Italy fix in Udine

And the crowd goes wild

This World Cup thingy is really catching on in Germany. Who would have guessed?

Munich’s many beer gardens are probably the best places in town for World Cup viewing. The crowd at Menterschwaige certainly seemed to enjoy watching Germany spank Argentina yesterday.

But the celebration was just getting started. Back in the center of Munich, police closed Leopoldstraße for a three-kilometer-long victory party which lasted all afternoon and into the night. And this was just the quarter-finals.

An attempted burning of an Argentinian flag was thwarted by the flame-retardant nature of its material.

The final score?

Read moreAnd the crowd goes wild

Going on in Munich: July 2010

As usual, my travel schedule will be calming down with the heat of summer, so I’m on the lookout for local fun here in Munich. After a very rainy June, the entire city is excited to sit outside under the chestnut trees and drink beer, but there are actually other fun ways to entertain oneself … Read more

Road trip to Croatia: Rovinj

After Opatija we continued our journey along the Istrian coast, stopping for lunch in Pula and then landing in Rovinj for our last evening in Croatia. I’m finding myself at a loss for words when it comes to Rovinj. The photos do a better job of communicating my thoughts. Rovinj’s old town is on a … Read more

Croatia: the four-hour Istrian lunch

Valsabbion kept showing up in my research of restaurants in Istria. It’s the kind of place where the dishes are small and fancy, and there are a lot of courses. I love that kind of restaurant. I asked if they could accommodate a vegetarian. They could. I reserved.

Valsabbion is a hotel and restaurant located near the giant harbor in Pula, down at the southern tip of the Istrian Peninsula. The immediate area was disappointingly uninteresting for wandering around, but that was fine: we were there to dine.

We settled into the outdoor table that would be our base for the afternoon and accepted an aperitif of local sparkling wine. The men chose a seven-course prix fixe menu that would set the pace for our meal. We were warned it would take several hours. That was OK, we had time. We chose a local rosé to complement our meals, and we were off.

My delight started with the appetizers, presented in a series of little glasses and spoons which contained tasty spreads of local veggies, cubes of local cheeses, and interesting little fried creations.

My next course was a sort of vegetable lasagna with an abundance of fresh truffles.

Next came a layered cup of local wild asparagus, a poached egg, and a wild asparagus puree.

Read moreCroatia: the four-hour Istrian lunch

Road trip to Croatia: Opatija and Lovran

Our drive from Zagreb to Istria was relatively quick and painless, and it took us through some picturesque hills. The first coastal city we passed was Rijeka, whose communist-era skyscrapers had us cursing Tito. Luckily Opatija’s architecture was more visually pleasing. Hotel Imperial was built in 1885; circa 1970, it seems, they decided they had … Read more