Flight to Germany

The flight from Dallas-Fort Worth, USA (DFW) to Frankfurt, Germany (FRA) was great!

I flew with Lufthansa for the first time and was quite pleased with the service and accommodations. The plane was an Airbus A330 - a pretty large plane. The flight attendants were all smiles, kindness, and, thankfully, spoke both Deutsch and English.

The flight was direct (I didn't want to spend my precious time away from work on lay-overs) and scheduled to be 10 hours long but we had a tail wind and landed almost an hour ahead of schedule. I reserved a window seat with only one seat adjacent to it before an aisle.

All beverages and several, alcoholic or not, were offered free of charge. I tried some German red and white wines. Water was frequently passed out, too, which I really appreciated.

Two meals were served. The dinner option I chose was a curried lamb and rice (sorry, forgot to remove the foil lid in the photo), and the breakfast was egg frittata with veggies. You can also see in the picture my notebooks: one is my day-to-day-keep-my-life-in-order notebook, and the other is my Germany travel journal which will morph into a sort of memento from the trip, stuffed with journal entries, tickets, and other tidbits.

Dinner

I had hoped to sleep 6-8 hours, but ended up being wide awake - just my luck - for all but a few hours. For those few hours I got pretty terrible sleep as the seat in front of me was fully reclined, leaving me unable to rest by folding forward, which is my preferred method on a plane. And by preferred I mean basically the only way I can manage to sleep on a plane, so I've learned.

The leg room was typical for a plane, but given the length of the trip, my knee began to bother me. Nothing painful, but very achy and restless. Needless to say, I started to worry about the marathon. I did some stretching in the aisle but wasn't sure how much it would help. I just tried to not think about the up-coming race.

I had good fortune in the game of "am I going to get a cool seat buddy or not" roulette. My seat buddy's name is Michael; he is German, speaks English (thank goodness), and lives in Freising, which is just north of Munich in Bavaria. (The oldest brewery in the world, Weihenstephan, is in that town. Unfortunately my itinerary doesn't allow for a visit. Also, I'm not much into beer, so I wasn't too bothered.) Anyway, Michael was in Dallas for work. It turns out that we are employed by companies in related industries - small world (kind of). We enjoyed chatting and got to know one another. We talked some, did our own thing some. It was a perfect blend of interaction. And he didn't mind my practicing basic German travel phrases with him. I'm sure I sounded like a 5-year-old, but he was good-natured about it. He's a friendly fellow I'm glad to have met.

Finally we began our decent into Frankfurt! Here are a couple obligatory photos of the view from the plane. Looks like a cute little town outside of Frankfurt, surrounded by crop fields - they reminded me of the Midwest and home in Indiana!

A Small Town Outside of the Frankfurt

Lots of Farm Land

When we landed there was something going on such that we had to disembark via ladder and take a bus into the airport terminal. I managed to leave my neck rest pillow thing on the plane. I swear I fastened it to my backpack. It must have unsnapped while I was exiting. Ah, well. It was still $20 well spent for all the use I got from it over the years.

Once to the terminal I said goodbye to Michael (he had another flight to catch to Munich), and then I managed my way to the baggage claim. It was a bit of a hike - the Frankfurt Airport is huge. Once there I gathered my bag, and reached out to Judith who would be meeting me. (She's a German friend who lives in Frankfurt; we met during our Study Abroad stays in Australia.)

"Welcome" in German

Judith wasn't expecting the flight to land so early and was in transit when I got through Customs (which was super easy and my first time using my renewed US Passport - yay!). I had some time to kill so I used the ATM to get Euros (my first time using/having Euros), and bought some bottled water since I couldn't find a water fountain.

Judith spied me and we had a nice little reunion full of smiles and hugs. Before we made our way to a cafe to wait for our other friend, Inge, she told me about the bottle recycling program where I could return bottles to merchants for a refund. The bottle pictured below fetched me E0.25! I know of some similar programs in the US, but it's usually only available in certain states and doesn't refund nearly as much. It may be silly, but I was happy for this new experience. Yay for being green! 

The First Bottle I Returned for a Refund

Judith and I enjoyed catching up with one another over hot beverages while we waited for Inge's flight to arrive. True to form, Inge cried a tiny bit during our reunion. I love her bold emotions. It was so wonderful to see these two lovely ladies! We had much to catch up on and just a few days to do it!

I left DFW at 4 PM on Thursday, 21 September 2017, flew for 9 hours, and landed at FRA at 9 AM on Friday, 22 September 2017. With having worked a half day before flying out and only getting 3 hours of less-than-quality sleep, I knew the day ahead would be long. But I would be visiting with two of my favorite people in the world and seeing a new country and continent for the first time. Onward to Frankfurt!

Germany Update

Hallo! It has been a non-stop weekend visiting with Inge & Judith, seeing Frankfurt and Berlin, preparing for the marathon, and actually running it. I have lots of photos and stories to share, but for now, please enjoy these favorites so far - more of a blog post coming tomorrow!

Romer Platz (Frankfurt City Center)

Frankfurt Skyline at Sunset

My First German Pretzel

At the BMW Berlin Marathon Expo

Just Before the Start of the BMW Berlin Marathon

Pretzel Picture Along the Course

After Finishing the BMW Berlin Marathon (chip time: 4:56)

With My BMW Berlin Marathon Medal in Front of the Reichstag

Auf Wiedersehen!

I’m finally on the plane! Yay!

Thanks for all of the well wishes, for my Heidi care-givers, and to Linda for this gem:

My German Heritage

In putting together these blog posts about my up-coming trip to Germany, I realized I haven't really even tried to learn much about how I am of German descent. I just always knew it as truth based on what I'd been told and my mother's maiden name being clearly German. So, I asked my momma if she had any concrete information and was pleased to learn that she did!

My maternal grandfather's side of the family gives me my German blood. Some family members shared with her, and she with me, enough information for me to build the following path in my family tree.

Mary & Henry Baugher were my great-great-great-grandparents.

They lived in the German state of Bavaria (for which Munich is the capital). I have details that they were from "the Rein Region", but haven't yet been able to discover where exactly that is. My best guesses as to where their home might have been are the following.

• Rain, Swabia, the red pin that is the farthest north
• Rein-Tal (Rain Valley), the red pin that is farthest south

"Rein", "rhine", and "rain" all seem to be related spellings of "rain" in English. The Rhine is a river that flows through Europe.

Joseph Baugher was born on 16 November 1861 in Ohio. He died on 16 June 1916 in Indiana. He was my great-great-grandfather.

Russell Baugher was born on 6 July 1884 in Lawrence, Indiana. He died in 1977 in Elwood, Indiana. He was my great-grandfather.

I knew Elmer & Imogene Baugher, my maternal grandparents, and I miss them both dearly.

It's really very neat to discover some of one's family heritage. I am looking forward to visiting the state, region, and country where my distant relatives once lived.

Special thanks to my mom, my Uncle Dave, and my Cousin Kerry for gathering and sharing the information about our German heritage!

I used Family Echo to build the family tree graphic. It is a free online tool and very easy to use.

Germany Itinerary by Map

The following is a map of Germany with pins where I'll be visiting.

Frankfurt is the farthest west. Berlin is the farthest north. Munich is the farthest north of the 2 pins in the southern region of the country. Fussen is south of Munich.

Germany Itinerary

I'll be flying in and out of Frankfurt and making a circuit loop of the country through Berlin, Munich, and Fussen. The following are some highlights of the trip that I have planned.

• Frankfurt
• Meet with Judith & Inge, friends met during my Study Abroad in Australia back in 2008
• Explore the city with Judith as our guide

• Berlin
• Berlin Marathon - wish me luck!
• Checkpoint Charlie
• Berlin Wall Memorial
• Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
• Judisches Museum
• Bradenburg Gate
• Reichstag Building
• Maybe pop over to nearby Potsdam
• Glienicker Bridge
• Sanssouci Palace

• Munich
• Meet with Mathias, a colleague at Mouser Electronics' Munich office
• Mouser Electronics German Office
• Dachau
• Deutsches Museum
• Marienplatz
• Hofbrauhaus
• Oktoberfest
• Maybe pop over to nearby Freising

• Fussen
• Schloss Neuschwanstein
• Schloss Hohenschwangau
• Mary's Bridge
• Alpine toboggan sledding

Berlin Marathon

The Berlin Marathon is just week away, on Sunday, 24 September 2017! This post contains some helpful information and an update on my readiness.

• Training
• Training went really well and was injury free (yay!). However, my IT Band was (seemingly out of nowhere) giving me some grief on a light run Wednesday evening, but I’m trying not to freak myself out. I’m getting new shoes to break in with my taper run this weekend and will up my stretching; hopefully these things will set me straight again.
• UPDATE: new shoes did the job! It's crazy how their cushioning breaks down and can lead to discomfort and injury.

• Race Goal Based on my training performance (I managed 20 miles in 4 hours) I expect to finish the 26.2 miles in approximately 5.25 hours. I’m happy just to finish alive within the 6.25-hour time limit but am aiming for as close to 5.25 hours as I can.

• Time Difference Berlin is 7 hours ahead of us. The race officially starts around 9 AM (Berlin time), but I won’t actually start until my wave crosses the starting line around 10 AM (Berlin time). No hard feelings if you don’t wake up at 3 AM Sunday morning (Mansfield time) to follow the race, haha! You can just read the notifications of my race’s progress when you wake up. = ) If all goes according to plan, then I should be finishing up around 3:15 PM (Berlin time) / 8:15 AM (Mansfield time).

• Thank You Thanks for all of the support! It’s really encouraging to know that people back home will be thinking of me and cheering me on next weekend!

2017 Trip: Germany

Aside from a jaunt in the Western Caribbean for a cruise, it's been 9 years since my last trip abroad (Australia). Ironically enough, I have an ex-boyfriend to thank for giving me the nudge I needed to correct this aspect of my life. After the break-up I realized that it was high time I did something big and special for myself: I decided to travel to Europe (for the first time).

I've heard that a benefit of traveling to Europe is the close proximity of myriad countries, and that one can visit several in a short span of time. I took a different approach in determining where I went: I decided that instead of seeing many countries briefly, I would visit one country in-depth. Quality over quantity.

The next question was which country. I chose Germany. Many people have asked me what led me to land on Germany, so here is my reasoning:

• I have German ancestry.
• My mother's maiden name is Baugher (pronounced Bahk-er). I've done some research and found that Baugher is an English spelling of the German surname Bacher. You may be familiar with the famous German composer by the name of Bach. His name means stream or brook. I surmise that Bacher may have similar meaning.
• As for my lineage, I don't really know much. I don't know when the family immigrated to the US or who in my family tree may still reside in Germany.
• I have friends in and near Germany to visit. Two I met during my Study Abroad in Australia; the other I met more recently through work.
• I've read a lot of WWI & WWII historical fiction.
• I used to not have any desire to read stories in wartime settings. Turns out that, while I still don't really care for reading about the fighting itself, I actually quite appreciate the stories about the people affected by war, what it was like, the spy networks, sacrifice for others, and the power hope.
• The following are some of my favorite WWI & WWII historical fiction novels. I've listed them in by audience and then by favorite.
• Adult
• The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah - a story of two sisters living in Nazi-occupied France; Kristen Hannah is amazing at painting 3-dimensional characters, particularly women (sisters and best friends)
• The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult - a story of a woman who faces a moral struggle when asked to help a former SS Officer commit suicide; a story woven around justice and forgiveness; true to form, Picoult enables the reader to see both sides of the request with clarity while acknowledging that they are opposites, making for a very intense reaction
• China Dolls by Lisa See - the story of 3 Asian women from different backgrounds who become close friends after traveling to San Francisco, California in search of stardom; their world is rocked when the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor and one of them goes missing at the betrayal of one of the others; See is skilled at giving life to female protagonist characters and their relationships, particularly with other women (best friends)
• All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr - a story of a little French girl who has lost her vision and is struggling to survive WWII and crosses paths with a German boy solider who is also struggling to survive the war
• At the Water's Edge by Sara Gruen - a story about a woman who doesn't give herself enough credit and learns a character-defining secret about her husband; set in Scotland in 1942; same author as Water for Elephants
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - a story of an orphan girl in Germany whose accordian-playing foster father teaches her how to read; she quickly discovers that she is a bibliophile during WWII and resorts to theft to feed her hunger for books and the words they contain; she reads to others in bomb shelters to calm them, and she reads to a Jewish man her foster parents are hiding in their basement
• Children (I reread Number the Stars and fully recollect the story and how it affected me, so I've listed it first. Of course, Diary of a Young Girl is a world-wide classic.)
• Number the Stars by Lois Lowry - a story of a little Danish girl who discovers the courage to help her family rescue Jews, her best friend among them; a children's book that I'll never forget reading in elementary school by a renowned children's book author
• Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank - the diary of Dutch girl surviving the war by hiding with her family and another in the secret annex of an office building

Once I decided on Germany I began researching what to do and when to go. I stumbled across the Berlin Marathon and found that the registration window was currently open. I figured what the hell, registered for the lottery. A month or so later I had a random charge against my checking account and discovered it was my registration payment: I got in, and I was going to Germany in September 2017!

Blog Update

It's been years since I posted to my blog, but I've returned because I have a trip coming up and folks have expressed interest in hearing about it. I considered starting a new, travel-specific blog but figured it would be fine just to keep everything in one place. So, expect some revival here! = )

Beachmania Half Marathon

This post is for an outdated event, but I wanted to get it on my blog. Back on Sunday, 4 March 2012 I ran my 4th half marathon: the Charlie Alewine Beachmania Half Marathon along Huntington Beach in California.

My training paid off as I dropped my time to run 13.1 miles from 2:10'22" to 1:56'56" (14' improvement). 

The event was SUPER low-key; only some 30 participants. Charlie keeps things intimate. There were no mile markers, no fancy start or finish lines, no chips - just a good, ole, plain race. It was an out-n-back along Huntington Beach. It was a great race!

It was an especially fun event because I got to do the race with my mom! = )

jumping after the race

with Charlie Alewine at the refreshment station after the race

Eat Pray Love

I am FINALLY getting around to writing my book review for Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. Here are a bunch of associated links you may like to visit:

Elizabeth Gilbert web page for the book

IMDB's article for the film (2010)

Film trailer #2

Wikipedia's article for the book

Book on Amazon.com

Rotten Tomatoes ratings and reviews for the film

So. My review on the book.

SPOILER ALERT!

Don't read any further if you don't want to know if Elizabeth finds love in the third leg of her journey.

I really enjoyed this memoir of a woman's pursuit of happiness by way of gorging Italian food, growing spiritually and galloping off in love. It is a light book that is well suited to those who enjoy travel.

My favorite part is Eat, where Elizabeth lets her self live through eating whatever she wants in Italy. Loads of spaghetti and original pizza! I liked her friendship with her Italian tutor a lot and the friends she met there. Her little apartment was quaint in my memory of her living space.

Speaking of living spaces, she had great fortune because she had an awesome room and roommate (though quiet, heh) in India in the Pray leg of the trip. I had mixed feelings about this portion of the book going into it: ugh, I don't want religion/spirituality shoved down my throat versus hmmm, I wonder what she got out of her stay in the community in India. Turns out I really enjoyed this part. I especially liked how Elizabeth came around to love the arduous prayers. I'm a big believer in the fruits of the process and hard work that goes into something. I like that Elizabeth found something in which to pour herself spiritually. The sense of community she found was therapeutic, too. And let's not forget Richard from Texas! He was one of my top favorite people she met in her trip.

And the final place Elizabeth stayed was BEAUTIFUL! Bali. Beaches. Breezes. The movie made her living quarters a little more glamorous than I imagined in my head, but it still worked well. If I go to Bali, I hope I am lucky enough to stay in a similar bungalow. But, ah, the topic of love. Love is the biggest mystery, and in the end I'd just like to say that it finds you in its own time. *shrug.

I rate this book 4 stars out of 5.

Labor Day Weekend

I've never been so excited to have a

weekend. Why? Well, this year I am driving home with one of my best friends, Sam,

and my baby girl, Heidi,

to do some serious camping!

Today I vacuumed, washed, waxed and organized my car in preparation for the trip.

It's gonna be a long haul from Florida to Indiana!

We'll probably make it in about 18 hours. We will have CD books, MadLibs and snacks to make this  

a ton of fun. We're pretty excited. This will be Sam's first visit to the great Midwest!

We'll be passing through Atlanta, Georgia,

Chattanooga, Tennessee,

and Knoxville, Tennessee.

Then we'll brush past Cincinnati, Ohio,

before entering

AKA:

Something I've missed out on for a couple years is Sno-Castle! We're gonna have to get some on our way to the camp site.

Then, while camping, I'll spend some time near the camp fire cooking the perfect s'more,

enjoy some boating,

and play some Euchre!

Oh, I can hardly wait! T-minus 3 days!

Indy 500 Mini 2012

Yep, I'm on a big racing kick. It's my little trick to staying motivated and healthy.

I have a free one-way flight with AirTran (since I've poured money for 8+ flights into their pockets in the last 12 months or something), so I'm flying home next May to run the Indianapolis 500 Mini Marathon 2012 with my Momma (and maybe my Dad, too)!

The Indy Mini is a SUPER fun race. It's 42,000 people all trotting along for a couple hours, raising funds for good causes, cheering each other when the going gets rough, and listening to music - the ENTIRE 13.1 miles! It's a blast. Plus we get to camp out before/after the race with the Anderson Road Runners Club - I just love them all! = )

It just so happens that the Indy 500 Mini 2009 was my first half marathon race ever. My best half time is 2:10'2" (from the Indianapolis Half Marathon 2009), and I'm gonna train hard to get under 2 hours. Actually, I'd be happy with 2:04 because that would mean I'd finally have a faster time than my own mother. Hehe! (She's an animal, I tell ya. I created a monster with this running business.)

So anyway, here's another race and a trip home to sweet Indiana to visit with my dear family. I can hardly wait!

Staying in Orlando

You may have heard by now that I am no longer moving to Denver, CO. No particular thing led me to the decision to remain in Orlando, FL, but I did come to the realization that now isn't the right time. So, I'm staying in Orlando at least until I complete my masters degree, which will be in 2013.

So, if you're planning a visit to central Florida, please do let me know! I love to visit with family and friends!

I Hope I Survive August

I hope I survive August. Many of you who know me know that I keep busy, but that is normal for this girl. No big deal. To give you a feel of how busy August will be: August is so busy it seems overwhelming even to me!

As of today, here is what I have going on this month:

• Reading:
• Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (11 August 2010)
• The Hunger Games (July 2010)
• Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone (dropped)
• Knitting Night with girl-friends (tonight!)
• Turkish Dinner at Bosphorus Lounge with book club friends (this Friday!) (moved to September)
• Sand Volleyball and Cookout at Matt's (this Saturday!)
• 5th Annual Moss Park 5K (this Saturday, but I'm thinking of skipping this since I've not been training... kind of forgot about this race...) (skipped)
• Eat Pray Love movie night with girl-friends (13 August 2010)
• Heather's Birthday Party (21 August 2010)
• Homeless Children's Birthday Party with Jessica and her volunteer group (have to work instead)
• Lockheed Martin ISLDP Leadership Development Conference I (I will be in Lansdowne, VA from 16-20 August)
• The August Book Club (for The Hunger Games)
• Kristin visits for a long weekend! (we're super excited to experience The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, a girls' night in and a night downtown!)
• Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring movie night (10 August 2010)
• My class(es) for Penn State begin (23 August 2010)
• Church with Kayelee & Chelsea on Sundays (22 August 2010)
• Brunch with Kayelee & Chelsea to discuss our upcoming Bible study group! (22 August 2010)

Shew! It was tiring just blogging all of that!

Can you believe that in addition to all of that I am working on putting together a karaoke night with the book club and also a Euchre/Spaghetti Pitch-in night! Those things may have to wait until September rolls around. Oh! And I want to get over to Melbourne. I am itching to visit friends, Aunt Joan and the beach!

Anyway, I hope your August is off to a great start!

A Walk in the Woods

I freaking loved this book!

I read another of Bill Bryson's travelogues, In a Sunburned Country (about Australia), last year - a favorite!

No further along in the book than the very first page I'd already made up my mind that someday I will hike a portion of the AT. This was my favorite take-away from the book.

The book club discussion was tons of fun. Bryson provides a lot of information to ponder and funny anecdotes to relate to and laugh at. Katz is hilarious.

Mom is borrowing this book right now, so I can't flip through the pages to do any quotes or comment at length on a specific passage. Lesson learned for me: Mom likes books about places and experiencing those places.

Anyway, I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys travel, learning about places (i.e., The US), going places, nature, and the great outdoors. It's also good if you like general humor because Bryson is a funny fellow.

PS - I think the two creatures were fox.

Website

Heidi Update (Photos 3/3)

And here's the final installment to get my photos of Heidi updated on this blog.

Heidi and me at her puppy class graduation!

Heidi looking pretty on the way to visit the Waterford Lake Town Center Saturday market

Look at that happy graduate!

The puppy graduation class!

Heidi and I with her diploma

Our trainer, Whitney

I got that giant bone for Heidi as a graduation gift

Heidi Update (Photos 2/3)

Here is installment 2/3 for photos of Miss Heidi!

Kota and Heidi holding paws (thanks for this photo, Ethan!)

Heidi all ready to go to the dog park!

After the dog park.

At the dog park, cruising along the water's edge before taking the plunge and getting in there.

Flossing?

Taking a break on a walk to the Waterford Lakes Town Center Saturday markets

Say, what?

Lip-smackin' good!

Chillin'. This is the last time she's allowed up there.

At Waterford Lakes Town Center for dinner