Sarah's Happy Place

I can't believe that I was here...Claude Monet's home in Giverny.

We had the perfect day. Sure, there were a ton of tourists, but it did not matter. I was looking at the pond with the water lillies and the Japanese Bridge (replica). I saw the field of poppies. I leaned against the willow trees looking at their reflections in the water. The place that I only dreamed of going was now reality. This was where my most favorite painter lived, worked, and drew inspiration. Another moment of pure joy, once again found in (ok, not in, but near) the most fabulous city in the world.

Jack's Happy Place

This past weekend, Jack and I woke up early to catch our 7 hour train to Munich. Munich, the place of beer, wurst, and pretzels, is also the home to Jack's Happy Place; The Deutches Museum.

We planned the travel and accommodations of our trip, but winged the rest of it. What were we going to do each day? No idea. On Saturday, being rainy and somewhat cold, we decided to go to the Deutsches Museum, a museum that we only assumed was a museum full of Deutches (German) art. How wrong we were. This museum happened to be a technical museum, of all German technologies in every possible field. There were artifacts of German glass making, printing, car and train modeling, space exploration, plane flying, and most importantly (to Jack), ship building.

Jack looking at the planking of the model ship

Jack loves anything to do with ship models. All last year, he spent countless hours working on the "Jolly Boat of the HMS Bounty" (whatever that means). When visiting Copenhagen this year, we stayed in a hotel that had model ships throughout the lobby and the man spent all of our down time looking at them. When we entered the room in the Deutches on German ship building, Jack was in awe. There were life sized ship models, small ship models, and everything in between. I can't remember for certain, but I believe he jumped and clapped in glee. He ran ahead, like a little child, shouting "Look at this one! It's so cool!"

"Toot! Toot!"

Then the museum guard pressed a button on one of the life sized ships. Instantly, the motors of the ship moved, the horn sounded, and Jack's mouth dropped to the floor. I don't know what was bigger; the smile on his face, or the length that his mouth dropped. He continued to run ahead, looking at all of the model ships, pointing and smiling, and I watched him like a mother watching her child play in puddles in the rain. How I love this man...what a dork he is...

Look of awe

Don't get me wrong. The pretzels were good, too :)

Pretzel the size of an Elephant's ear

Live and Learn #7: Die Lebensmittel

Die Lebensmittel= grocery stores

One of my favorite things to do in America was go grocery shopping. Every Saturday after my spinning class, I would hit the Asian grocery store (GrandMart) and Shoppers. GrandMart was fun because I never knew what kind of produce/fish I was going to find, and Shoppers was fun because I would see new products and think of what concoctions I could make that week.

One of my least favorite things to do in Deutschland is go grocery shopping. It is one of the biggest pains, but because our fridge is the equivalent of a mini-fridge, I have to do it at least 3x/week. Let me start by saying that the groceries here are amazing. The produce is wonderfully fresh and the groceries are über cheap. However, the rest of the experience is not fun. For one, I need to always remember to bring either a 50 cent piece or a euro coin for the cart pfand. Kind of like American luggage carts in airports, I have to insert money to get a cart. Yes, I get the money back, but it's surprising how many times I am without a 50 cent piece or euro coin. That means that I have to lug everything in a grocery basket, and sparkling water bottles, potatoes, and apples get very heavy!

Ok, so pretend that I actually remembered my coins for the cart pfand. I have a cart, and I'm filling it up with my sparkling water, potatoes, and apples. Now, I am dodging the massive crowds of people all hanging around the freshly baked bread counter, because let's face it, warm, freshly baked bread is awesome. The trouble with dodging people is that the carts have minds of their own. I'm not kidding. I turn right, but it turns left, and then it swings from side to side. The floors seem to have to traction, so I have no footing to get a good handle on the cart. Before I know it, I bump into someone.

After getting a good grip on the cart, I steer to the cereal/baked goods/pasta/condiments aisle to grab some oats. Wait a minute...there are none... Why is it that whenever I go to the grocery store, the items actually on my list are not stocked, but wine, candy, and cookies are abundant and on sale? I don't need 5 more bars of Ritter Sport, but somehow, they end up in my (for now) controllable cart.

Ok, now I am ready to pay. Which of the 2/8 open cash registers has the shortest line? It's hard to tell. Both lines are long and rope down the aisles, and I just realized that 2 of the eggs in the carton broke. I discretely put them on the nearest shelf because I don't feel like getting out and losing my spot in line.

I finally get to the front of the line. In Germany, cashiers do not bag anything for you. Instead, they swipe the items so quickly, that before you know it, all of your groceries are at the end of the conveyor belt and you have to work at the speed of light to put the items back in your cart. After I put the groceries in the cart, I head to the bagging table by the exit, and bag everything in my reusable bags.

My groceries are in bags, and I have evenly distributed the weight of the 5 or 6 bags over my shoulders to prevent injury. Now, I return the cart to get my pfand back, and begin the short walk home. However, having a very small bladder, I now have to go to the bathroom. I have 5 or 6 heavy grocery bags on my arms, so I try to walk as fast as possible for the 5 minute walk home, which includes just under 50 steps. I open the door, drop all of the bags in the entryway, bruising everything I bought, and go to the bathroom. After washing my hands, I put everything away, and take a look at my list. Crap...I still need the oats and eggs for tonight's dinner. Screw it. We'll go out...

Give Me a High 5 #8: Ritter Sport Chocolate

Ritter Sport Chocolate is arguably one of the best chocolates ever. Forget Hershey's, forget Dove's Dark Chocolate squares (gasp!), even forget Godiva. Ok, don't forget Godiva. That stuff is amazing, but Ritter Sport reigns supreme when referring to chocolate bars. Ritter Sport chocolate has tons and tons, hundreds and hundreds of different flavors, both standard and seasonal ones, but the best part about them is that they use quality chocolate. Lucky for me, one of their two factories is located right here in Berlin, and is in an area that I often frequent. It's similar to the Hershey's Factory in PA, only with good chocolate. They have an amazing cafe that I enjoy taking people to for lunch, and have a station to make your own chocolate with your own flavors and add-ins. Having tried almost all of Ritter Sport's chocolates (they're so yummy!), I am going to attempt to rank my top 5. Now don't get me wrong. I love many more flavors. Marzipan, peppermint, rum, coconut, the one with the butter cookie inside...they're all delicious. Except the crispy cereal one...that one is just mediocre.


Before I present my list, know that I like my chocolate dark and without a lot of hooplah. I am not a huge filling person, nor do I like it when there are so many nuts in a chocolate bar that you cannot taste the chocolate. If I wanted an almond, I would eat an almond and not a chocolate bar with almonds. That being said, many who know of Ritter Sport may find my list somewhat boring. As my Nana, Mutti, and Uncle Kurt would say, "Tough!" Write your own blog and make your own list :)

1. Halbbitter 50% Kakao
Your plain, wonderfully delicious dark chocolate bar. No hooplah. Pure dark chocolate goodness. This is my standard chocolate; the one that no matter what, I have somewhere in the apartment and in my purse.

2. Cookies and Cream
A Spring-seasonal flavor. This is actually a milk chocolate, but wowwy good. Being a spring flavor, I am stocking up while I still can before it's gone!

3. Kakao Mousse

It tastes like a Chocolate Mousse cake. It melts in your mouth and is perfect with a glass of wine. The pieces are larger, too, so you are getting more in each piece.

4. Tie between Eiscafe and Espresso

I figured that a tie is allowed when the flavors are basically the same. Eiscafe is a Summer-seasonal flavor. The cafe part melts on your tongue as soon as it hits, with the chocolate part staying a little longer for the ride. Espresso has the same affect. I think the Eiscafe is a little creamier and the Espresso is a little espresso-ier, but I don't quite remember. Maybe I should eat more to figure it out...

5. Edel-Bitter 73% Kakao

This chocolate is extremely dark and bitter. They make the pieces eenie-weenie-teenie because they pack so much of a punch. I love it because it is actually possible to have one piece and be totally satisfied. If you like hard-core dark chocolate, this is the way to go.

*All pictures came from the Ritter Sport website

Dating the Robots

It is strange thing to think that Jack and I have been together for almost 8 years. We have been a couple for almost a decade. That's a long time! Not to get all mushy or anything, but I would not have had it any other way and I can't wait to be with him for another 8, 10, 30, 100 years. That being said, I love hearing stories about single people and their dating lives. The stories about the strange dates are the best. It makes me even more thankful that I am not in the dating world.

My Venezuelan friend, Osward, is staying with us for the week while he looks for an apartment in Berlin. I met him from my German classes, and he is one of the most outgoing and happy people that I have ever met. He is also single, ready to mingle, and open to talking about it, which is great for me, because I love gossip and dating stories. While I was babysitting last night, Osward went on a date with a guy who lives right down the street from us. This morning, over a cup of coffee and breakfast on the couch, Osward talked about his date. What he shared with me was worthy of a blog post, and with his permission, I will explain to you what he told me.

According to Osward, German men are all the same...mechanical, robotical, and orderly. Last night, the man whose name Osward has since forgotten, cooked Schnitzel and Spargel for him. This man, we will call him Bob, was not Osward's type; he had old man features that were not attractive, but not being a man to pass up a cooked meal, Osward stayed and tried to see if this relationship would go anywhere. Osward is a Latino; a passionate man who lives in the moment. Bob was/is not. For the first 40 minutes of their date, Bob cooked in silence while Osward sat at the table, trying to make conversation. Bob was precise in his chopping, mixing, and food presenting skills. He set the table with silverware in their precise places. He cut and ate his food in a way that seemed like he was a gentleman from the 1700s. Osward, not knowing how to respond, tried making conversation about whatever popped into his head, but would be given a quick answer in return. It was very awkward. After dinner, it was time to clean the dishes, and then time for white wine, followed by red wine. After red wine, it was time to go out for ice cream, but Osward did not want ice cream. This took Bob by surprise, and it was as if the floor was taken out from under him. Expecting to go out for ice cream, Bob did not know how to deal with this change in plans. Osward explained that Bob seemed like a robot malfunctioning, and immediately asked Osward to go.

Strange as this story may seem, Osward says that this is typical of German men. They have a time or a plan for everything. There a time to cook, a time to eat, a time to drink white wine, a time to drink red wine, a time for conversation, a time for ice cream, a time for romance, etc... These times are not to be mixed with others, and when they are, German men shut down, like a robot, and do not turn back on. Osward has met many great German men, but at some point in the relationship, their robot button always turns off because something does not go according to their plan. Why then, does Osward keep dating German men when they are so robotic? "They're hot!" was his answer. Hopefully, he will find a man with real features instead of mechanical ones.