Germany: Day 1

Well, this is embarrassing. Remember when we went to Germany a year and a half ago? No? Well probably because I didn't tell you all about it! Now that it's Oktoberfest season (and the Unicorns just won the German Bowl for the second year in a row!), I thought I'd finally share our trip with you! 

Germany was the last stop on our Europe trip last summer (as in summer 2011, I know). Our first stop was London, then Paris, and then we went over to the little town of Schwäbisch Hall, Germany. We decided to go there to visit my baby brother and I'm so glad we did. My brother played Quarterback on the professional German football team (American football, not European futbol), the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns!

From Paris, we took the train to Stuttgart to meet up with my parents. They were in London while we were in Paris, and then after Germany were heading to Rome! About an hour into the ride the train stopped and they announced there had been an "animal accident" (whatever that means). We waited in the Stuttgart train station to meet them, not knowing where to meet and not having any cell phones. Luckily, there was a Starbucks, so they knew where to find us! :) 

From Stuttgart we bought a special one way ticket where up to five people can go anywhere in Germany for only 31 Euro. Such a good deal! We had no idea where to sit, so naturally, we sat in First Class. After we started moving, the train guy came by. You know, the guy that checks your ticket. We showed him our one ticket for the four of us and after taking a look he said (in English, but in his thick German accent), "Zer are two problemz vis zis. Vun, you have to sign your ticket. Two, you are sitting virst class." Ha! Then my mom asked "Where is second class?" He said, "Down zer." And pointed anywhere but where we were. He was quite snooty and it was really funny. So we grabbed our huge heavy bags and trekked through the train until someone finally moved so we could have four seats next to each other.

We got to the tiny Schwäbisch Hall train station where my brother was supposed to pick us up, and about a half hour later he did! :) We got all set up (my parents at their hotel, we stayed with my brother in the frat house - more on that later) and then went on a little walk around town. 

Schwäbisch Hall, in my mind, is what a typical Deutschland town should look like. Bavarian style buildings, cobblestone throughout the small downtown streets, little shops and eateries and all along a sweet river. I loved it. I wanted to move there. The people were so nice and the town was so cute. Since we were there during one of the busiest weekends of the summer - they were having their annual Jakobimart - there was a lot going on. We found the year-round beer garden at the park and had dinner. I had a schnitzelburger with fries and it was amazing. Zach had your standard bratwurst and of course we had our first taste of authentic German beer!

Two funny things happened at the beer garden. One - my mom asked if they had sauerkraut for her hot dog. The Germans behind the counter laughed at her! Apparently there is a legend/superstition that says they only have sauerkraut from Autumn to Spring. Good to know. Two - when it came time to order some beer, I asked if they had "light" beer. Yeah, I know. Rookie mistake. Everyone laughed at me and then I just took whatever they gave me at that point. And it was delicious.

We hung out some more enjoying the city and then went to bed early. We stayed at the frat house (aka the "Ami" House) and while it was free, it was far from a luxurious hotel. Especially once we heard the Cockamouse. My lovely brother told the rest of my family (all but me) about this creature that apparently lives on the roof of the room we were staying in. About one minute after we got in bed, I heard the little bastard scurrying on the roof! Scared me so bad! Thanks, bro... 

More later on the rest of our trip!

Date Night: The Berliner + A New Column!

During tax season especially, date nights became a huge part of our relationship (in fact - sad to say - it was one of the only fun interactions the husband and I had each week... yay for taxes...). To me, it's really important to get out of the house, have some good food, and connect with each other during the week. It's so easy to get in the same routine, watch the same shows, surf the web every night (or work late, study, etc.) and you eventually realize while you are together and sitting right next to each other, you're not really interacting.

I loved the time we spent together eating out each week because we were able to have an actual conversation and reconnect. Honestly, it's what helped me make it through each week and get through tax season. We also made it a point to eat at a bunch of different and new places to keep it interesting.

So... (drum roll please)... today is the start of a new column here on make bake & love! Are you excited?! I sure am! I'm calling it Date Night and with this weekly (or bi-weekly) column I want highlight some of the yummy/cool/fun places me and the hubs check out on our weekly date nights. Fun, right?

First up is The Berliner. This has quickly become one of our favorite spots in Renton. The Berliner Pub is a German pub in downtown Renton that feels like authentic Germany right when you walk in. Dark wood, a huge fireplace and long tables with benches set the mood for a laid back European pub. Soccer is always on the big screen (don't worry, WA sports are on there too). Overall, I love the vibe of the place. The waitresses even wear traditional drundels!

Our favorite thing on the menu is the Brätzel (or pretzel, and yes I just googled how to type an umlaut). The thing is the biggest pretzel I've seen and it comes out warm and soft and so delicious. It comes with two types of mustard and I would recommend asking for cheese too (cream cheese). During happy hour it's only $5, which is more than enough food! They also have delicious curry fries (fries with curry ketchup) and the currywurst is good too. I don't think you can go wrong and for "pub food" it is really good. Here's the yelp reviews. Oh and don't forget all the German beers! All imported and the couple we've tried are great.

All this talk about German food reminded me that I never posted about our trip last summer to Germany! I need to get on that! Stay tuned...

What about you guys? Do you do a weekly date night? Monthly? Do you have a usual spot, or do you try a bunch of different places?

German Bowl Champions!

Yesterday my brother's team (the Unicorns) won the German Bowl!! How AWESOME is that?!?

GO UNICORNS!!!

After trying (unsuccessfully) to get the game feed online, we were finally able to at least get a play by play stats update from the German Football League website. It was good, but frustrating since it was such a close game and the website wouldn't update at times. It was also frustrating when we couldn't tell how much time was left at the end of the game! It was killing us! But, the outcome was good great so I guess we can't complain. Just a small heart attack in the process. :)

Final score: 48-44 (see final game stats here or here). The Unicorns got their first German Bowl win and extended their undefeated season to 16-0 in front of 11,711 fans! Here's a video of my bro hurdling a player on the game winning drive, some fireworks after the game, and an article on the big win (make sure to translate to English!).

MVP Aaron Boehme!!!

I'm so proud of my baby brother! German Bowl Champion! Congratulations, Dude!

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PS Find some more awesome pictures here.

I See London, I See France...

Here we go! I finally got my 2,500 + photos on to my computer, and I'm ready to share all our European adventures! Sorry if it gets a little boring, but since this is kind of like our little family scrapbook, I'm not going to spare any details. :) So buckle your seat belts, people! And get ready for some wicked awesome stories of our travels to London, Paris and Schwäbisch Hall, Germany. Here's a sneak peak...

Lots more to come!

Suggestions?

Boy am I glad the world didn't end on Saturday, because that means my Europe trip didn't get postponed yet again! Our plane tickets have been purchased and now we are trying to figure out the rest of the details. We leave July 11th and arrive in London on July 12th (yay for 24 hour plane rides in coach...). The plan is London for 5 days,

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Paris for 5 days,

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and Germany for 5 days to see my baby brother play some football! I've asked some friends, but does anyone have any suggestions on places to see/stay/eat in London or Paris? I'd love to hear any advise you have (what to skip, what's a must see)!