A number of weeks ago, after Rowan’s visit to California, I headed to Germany to spend a total of about 8 days with my good friends Amanda and Zeb. A lot of people thought that I had spent more time there, and I wish I had.
I had a direct flight from LAX to Frankfurt, on which there was an empty middle seat. For those of you that travel long distance you know how much of a God send that is! It was overall a good flight and I had slept for a lot of it. I was quite proud of myself. I was thankful for the sleep on the plane, because when I arrived I still had a train ride to the small village of Landstuhl, the closest train stop to where Zeb’s parents were living. Amanda, Zeb and I were pretty happy to have free accommodation. Thanks Zeb’s parents!! While we were there, we made a few day trips to surrounding areas.
Trier
Our first day trip included a trip to the quaint small town of Trier.
Upon arrival in Trier it was cold, rainy and windy, and we were ready for a nice hot soup. After spending some time wandering and trying to figure out where we wanted to eat we came upon a restaurant in old town. The food was BEAUTIFUL! It was nice to have a good onion soup and schnitzel. Amanda and Zeb seemed to think the beer was pretty good as well.
In Trier we visited the Trier Cathedral and another church that is said to be the old throne room for some Roman way back when. I was never good at remembering historical things that that. Needless to say the Trier Cathedral met all the expectations of an old Catholic church, dark, somewhat gloomy with beautiful and detailed architecture and art. The Christian church however was kind of a disappointment. It has a very interesting and detailed history posted on one of the walls, but after the war they reconstructed the building and left the walls blank in memorial. Structurally it was a building that looked like a huge tissue box made of bricks. It was not aesthetically pleasing in any way, shape, or form. I was actually a slight bit happy when we realized that we arrived only five minutes before closing … at 4pm. Germany has the most interesting closing times in the winter.
Our adventure wasn’t over after we braved the February rain and wind of Germany in Trier however. Whoever said that German trains are all ways on time was full of it! We happened to have some of the worst luck with trains while we were in Germany, and it started with this incident. As our return train headed towards Landstuhl we began to notice that the lights and heat in the train kept going on and off. It was very weird, until the train came to a complete stop all together. There was an announcement, but even the two German speakers of the group, Zeb and me, couldn’t understand at first what had happened. (Think of loud speaker announcements in English and then put them in a language that is sometimes difficult to understand when it’s spoken to you directly... and that’s what it was like.) It was entertaining at first and we took a few pictures of us sitting on a dark German train, but when Zeb and I finally realized that the train wasn’t able to restart and it looked like we weren’t going anywhere for a few hours the three of us started thinking alternatives… mainly Zeb’s parents. The conversation with Zeb’s parents proved fruitless… we were on our own to wait for the next train or figure out the bus system. We were only less than an hour by car away from our destination… but there seemed no way to get there and the conductor said he would let the train know as he had more information on alternative routes. It seemed like we were going to be on the train all night and we had already been on the train for over 45 minutes. To our surprise however it wasn’t half an hour after the last announcement that we were asked to switch platforms and catch the next train. I think it must have been an express train that had been asked to make a local stop. I have no idea though.
By the time we got back to the house we were starving. Luckily dinner was ready… and with full stomachs we decided that all together we had a pretty good day. :)
Day trip number two… the Rhine Valley… to be continued…
(Zeb and Amanda… you know how my memory is about details… so if I’ve completely messed up some details, please let me know! :)
15.3.09
My little truck and me
I love it!... Although not so keen on the driveway! Hopefully more snow will melt soon!
8.3.09
Alaska’s State Capital
For the last 7 or 8 days now, I have been in Juneau, Alaska. The sun has been out and the temperature reached almost 50 degrees one day! The only really snowy day happened this past Friday. I would say it was near blizzard conditions, but it only lasted a day so it really wasn’t too bad. It was quite nerve-racking driving around in the storm though… especially with my new truck.
The truck
Yes, I have a new little truck. It’s new to me at least. It’s a little white ’85 Chevy S-10 with no frills. I mean, it doesn’t even have a cigarette lighter! Not like I’m really worried about that though. It’s perfect for me. Plus for $1200, it couldn’t be beat. I truly look like I belong with my rubber boots and truck with a cracked windshield!
It has been interesting learning/re-learning how to drive manual though. I haven’t really driven stick since I was 15 years old, and that was with a stick-shift Aerostar Mini-van, on my first trip to Alaska. The truck is very forgiving and only has 4 speeds, so that makes it a bit easier. The most trouble I’ve been having is getting out of the icy driveway at the place I’m staying! Even shoveling as much snow as I could didn’t help! The next step for me is praying that it warms up and applying more Ice-melt-away (a.k.a salt) to the driveway.
The place
I haven’t quite figured out whether the place I’m staying was supposed to be a house or an office originally. Brad and I refer to it as the hostel! It is a tri-level building with six rooms inside, and one room attached but only accessible from the outside. It has one and a half bathrooms, but only a few minutes of hot water comes out of the shower at a time. I’ve resorted to the get wet, turn off the water, lather up with soup and turn the water back on method. It does make for short showers, so at least I’m saving water, right?
When I first stepped into the house it reminded me of somewhere the Girl Scouts would have a sleep over. A church type office structure, maybe? If that serves as any type of description; I have no idea. Funny thought though, because the structure is actually owned by the Boy Scouts. They are trying to sell it, but with economic times being hard and “the hostel” being somewhere between a house and an office, they’re having a hard time finding a buyer. It’s a good thing Brad and I are available to be “caretakers” of sorts! Yay for having a free place to stay! Juneau is quite an expensive place to live! So expensive that I really need to get a job!
The job hunt
Without a job living in an expensive place like Juneau and buying a truck, has been really rough on the numbers in my bank account, even if I’m living in a free place. It’s very sad to see the money in my account disappearing! I need to get at least a part time job for the moment.
Most recently I’ve applied to a small bookstore near “the hostel”. It would pay $10 an hour; just enough to get by. I don’t know how anyone could live on that though! I’ll also be looking into the Juneau Museum on Monday. It might be a fun and interesting place to work. (Thanks Amanda’s mom for the suggestion!)
As far as permanent jobs go, they’re few and far between unless you’re a nurse. The economic recession that has hit the lower 48 states in finally being felt up here in Alaska… and it hurts! I’ve never really found much in my field (environmental education) anyhow, but now it seems even worse. I’m really hoping that my lucky break will come soon! My only glimpse of hope at the moment is with the US Forest Service at the Mendenhall Glacier here in Juneau.
Everyone here in Juneau has been really helpful! When I mentioned that I was looking for something to do at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor’s Center the rangers gave me a lot of contacts and suggested that I call them a.s.a.p. Upon making a few phone calls it looked like I was out of luck for any paid positions. Although I knew that might be the case and I’m ok with just doing volunteer work, it was still disappointing.
It wasn’t until Wednesday or Thursday when I was at State Farm getting car insurance that the head ranger of the Mendenhall Glacier Visitors Center gave me a call to tell me that he might be looking for one more employee and would love to be able to consider me. I applied that day, and with any luck when he goes to pull another list from the internet I’ll be on it for him to consider. He seems like a really great guy… and I would love to have a job, even if it’s seasonal! Working at the glacier would be pretty cool too! My fingers are crossed!
I’ll continue to look and apply to jobs, but otherwise in the meanwhile I have a lot of free time.
Free time
During the first few days here, I had practically nothing to do so I spent my time cleaning and organizing at “the hostel”. I also hung-out with some of my friends from UAF that now live here. It’s weird to see two of them with a kid and in a very adult routine. They aren’t very happy in Juneau either and hadn’t planned to be here as long as they have been. I know their little boy brings them happiness, but I think they need to escape the hold Juneau has on them to be really happy. I digress though…
Although I should have been out playing the sunshine and driving around, I was a little too nervous about driving Brad’s six speed Mini Cooper. After driving very slowly around the neighborhood a number of times mostly practicing stopping and going, I finally got courageous and went to the library to check my email, and Fred Meyers for food. I was pretty proud of myself. I even went to the Post Office and got a P.O. Box the next day! It’s amazing how much traffic is always at the Post Office.
Now that I’ve had some practice around traffic and I have my own truck, I’ve really been getting around. As a matter of fact, I drove to Home Depot with Brad and we picked up some wood for making a table. I’m pretty happy that we have a table now. I only put in a few nails before the process was taking too long and Brad took over. In a little over half an hour we had a 4’x4’ by 12’’ high lap table. It’s great!
Later today the projects are putting up clothes line and changing the oil in my truck. I still can’t believe the there aren’t even hook-ups for a washing and drier. This place really is half way between an office and a place to live! It’ll be exciting on Monday when I go to the laundromat and bring back wet clothes to hang up in one of the 7 random rooms of this place.
I hope I get a job soon!!
Here are some pictures for you to enjoy! And a video! (I sound goofy!)
The truck
Yes, I have a new little truck. It’s new to me at least. It’s a little white ’85 Chevy S-10 with no frills. I mean, it doesn’t even have a cigarette lighter! Not like I’m really worried about that though. It’s perfect for me. Plus for $1200, it couldn’t be beat. I truly look like I belong with my rubber boots and truck with a cracked windshield!
It has been interesting learning/re-learning how to drive manual though. I haven’t really driven stick since I was 15 years old, and that was with a stick-shift Aerostar Mini-van, on my first trip to Alaska. The truck is very forgiving and only has 4 speeds, so that makes it a bit easier. The most trouble I’ve been having is getting out of the icy driveway at the place I’m staying! Even shoveling as much snow as I could didn’t help! The next step for me is praying that it warms up and applying more Ice-melt-away (a.k.a salt) to the driveway.
The place
I haven’t quite figured out whether the place I’m staying was supposed to be a house or an office originally. Brad and I refer to it as the hostel! It is a tri-level building with six rooms inside, and one room attached but only accessible from the outside. It has one and a half bathrooms, but only a few minutes of hot water comes out of the shower at a time. I’ve resorted to the get wet, turn off the water, lather up with soup and turn the water back on method. It does make for short showers, so at least I’m saving water, right?
When I first stepped into the house it reminded me of somewhere the Girl Scouts would have a sleep over. A church type office structure, maybe? If that serves as any type of description; I have no idea. Funny thought though, because the structure is actually owned by the Boy Scouts. They are trying to sell it, but with economic times being hard and “the hostel” being somewhere between a house and an office, they’re having a hard time finding a buyer. It’s a good thing Brad and I are available to be “caretakers” of sorts! Yay for having a free place to stay! Juneau is quite an expensive place to live! So expensive that I really need to get a job!
The job hunt
Without a job living in an expensive place like Juneau and buying a truck, has been really rough on the numbers in my bank account, even if I’m living in a free place. It’s very sad to see the money in my account disappearing! I need to get at least a part time job for the moment.
Most recently I’ve applied to a small bookstore near “the hostel”. It would pay $10 an hour; just enough to get by. I don’t know how anyone could live on that though! I’ll also be looking into the Juneau Museum on Monday. It might be a fun and interesting place to work. (Thanks Amanda’s mom for the suggestion!)
As far as permanent jobs go, they’re few and far between unless you’re a nurse. The economic recession that has hit the lower 48 states in finally being felt up here in Alaska… and it hurts! I’ve never really found much in my field (environmental education) anyhow, but now it seems even worse. I’m really hoping that my lucky break will come soon! My only glimpse of hope at the moment is with the US Forest Service at the Mendenhall Glacier here in Juneau.
Everyone here in Juneau has been really helpful! When I mentioned that I was looking for something to do at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor’s Center the rangers gave me a lot of contacts and suggested that I call them a.s.a.p. Upon making a few phone calls it looked like I was out of luck for any paid positions. Although I knew that might be the case and I’m ok with just doing volunteer work, it was still disappointing.
It wasn’t until Wednesday or Thursday when I was at State Farm getting car insurance that the head ranger of the Mendenhall Glacier Visitors Center gave me a call to tell me that he might be looking for one more employee and would love to be able to consider me. I applied that day, and with any luck when he goes to pull another list from the internet I’ll be on it for him to consider. He seems like a really great guy… and I would love to have a job, even if it’s seasonal! Working at the glacier would be pretty cool too! My fingers are crossed!
I’ll continue to look and apply to jobs, but otherwise in the meanwhile I have a lot of free time.
Free time
During the first few days here, I had practically nothing to do so I spent my time cleaning and organizing at “the hostel”. I also hung-out with some of my friends from UAF that now live here. It’s weird to see two of them with a kid and in a very adult routine. They aren’t very happy in Juneau either and hadn’t planned to be here as long as they have been. I know their little boy brings them happiness, but I think they need to escape the hold Juneau has on them to be really happy. I digress though…
Although I should have been out playing the sunshine and driving around, I was a little too nervous about driving Brad’s six speed Mini Cooper. After driving very slowly around the neighborhood a number of times mostly practicing stopping and going, I finally got courageous and went to the library to check my email, and Fred Meyers for food. I was pretty proud of myself. I even went to the Post Office and got a P.O. Box the next day! It’s amazing how much traffic is always at the Post Office.
Now that I’ve had some practice around traffic and I have my own truck, I’ve really been getting around. As a matter of fact, I drove to Home Depot with Brad and we picked up some wood for making a table. I’m pretty happy that we have a table now. I only put in a few nails before the process was taking too long and Brad took over. In a little over half an hour we had a 4’x4’ by 12’’ high lap table. It’s great!
Later today the projects are putting up clothes line and changing the oil in my truck. I still can’t believe the there aren’t even hook-ups for a washing and drier. This place really is half way between an office and a place to live! It’ll be exciting on Monday when I go to the laundromat and bring back wet clothes to hang up in one of the 7 random rooms of this place.
I hope I get a job soon!!
Here are some pictures for you to enjoy! And a video! (I sound goofy!)
| From 03_01_09 Mendenhall Glacier |
Subscribe to:
Posts
(
Atom
)