Nothing Happens Here That Doesn't Happen There: Things I Like to Do

Since Christmas, most of my time outside of work has been spent with friends, who I'm very lucky to have here. Mostly we just get together for dinner, conversation, or a movie....and a drink or so. This winter has been a long one (especially without my beloved laptop), but it was much better than last year. The number of days it snowed was absurd since "it never snows here." And because it never snows, they also don't believe in snow removal. Their idea of cleaning the streets consists of letting the cars drive on the roads to pack the snow down, which later turns into ice. It was so much fun.

Over the 3-day holiday weekend in January, my friend Dave and I decided to take a day trip to Koblenz. We heard it was a nice city and it's at the confluence of the Moselle and Rhein rivers. I'm sure it's a very pretty city, when your teeth aren't chattering and you're constantly looking for a church to duck into to get warm.

I don't look cold at all.

Neither does Dave.

Also in January, I drove to Mons, Belgium to visit David and Rita, with whom I used to work. They were kind enough to invite me over for a weekend to be Belgian, which basically includes beer and french fries. I was in heaven. They have a fryer in their kitchen counter!! I'm afraid that would be a little too dangerous, even for me. Unfortunately, I forgot to take out my camera the entire weekend so I don't have any pictures. Mostly, though, all three of us had a beer in our hand and a fistful of fries in the other for a good part of the weekend. (And those who know me well or who have been reading my blog with interest and are probably wondering why I'd even make that statement--it's pretty much a given.) They also took me to SHAPE, which includes a grocery store filled with international food and drink, catering to the many nationalities stationed there. I think I'd like to work there just for the international food selection (and beer) without taxes!

In February, my friend Chris came to visit again. We relaxed around here and we also took a trip to Berlin. It was so cold that it was hard to walk around much, but we did take in some of the sights, since he had never been. We saw the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag, Checkpoint Charlie, and the East Side Gallery, which is the longest stretch of the Berlin Wall still standing. We also had dinner at a restaurant called the Alpenstueck, where I had the best meal since I've lived here. The Berlinale, the Berlin International Film Festival, was also taking place and we got free tickets to a showing of film shorts by Mexican directors. There were no George Clooney or Leonarda Dicaprio sightings, but we felt famous.