An upstate New York phenomenon?

Someone please tell me if this is common in other states- it was not in Eastern Massachusetts. I have been surprised to discover the high quality of some products in GAS STATION shops!!! In several communities around Boston where we used to live, you could get a soda and a slim jim while paying for gas, and in later years, maybe a slushee and a hot dog. In Germany, it was about the same in regular gas stations.

The military “shopettes” in Europe were known for a huge selection of food, beverages, magazines, and more, which was a nice convenience unless you just wanted to pay for your gas and had to wait in line behind people doing a larger grocery shopping trip! Just kidding… sorta.

Anyway, I didn’t pay any attention to the gas station shops in our new community until I was enlightened by Mr. Ice Cream. He was thrilled that the “Stewarts” near our house has fantastic ice cream. We have on occasion disagreed about the quality and flavor of some foods, but I regret that this time he was spot on! I don’t like ice cream in the winter but I was convinced to give this place a try, and it was the best ice cream I’ve had in New York state, and in the USA in general for a long time.

My favorites so far have been gelato in Europe, moosetracks ice cream in Swampscott, Massachusetts, and peach ice cream in Texas. The following week I gassed up at Stewart's for the first time, and I noticed that inside the clear cover of the gas nozzle handle was a frequent ice-cream buyer card!

Anyway, someone else referred me to the “Dexter Market” in the next town over, so I decided to give it a try. Guess what? It is a gas station mart! And it is phenomenal! After the usual suspects of dry goods, beverages, and frozen items, there was a nice selection of local cider, fruits/veggies and a huge deli section. I got maple bbq sauce that was tasty and a few freshly made items. They even had the right light bulbs that we needed for 3 different fixtures in our new house!

Now I notice when I drive past most gas stations in the area that the signs feature the retail store larger than the type of gas sold. According to Mr. Ice Cream, some of them have “good” pastries, others feature dairy/deli, etc. etc. 

More Missing Boston

The first time I returned to Boston after moving to Germany, I had some reverse clture shock, even though it had only been a few months since the move. For example, in Germany speeding tickets are issued by cameras placed at the sides of the roads, so people tend to follow the speed limits much more closely than Americans. I was surprised that people were blowing past me on the Mass Pike like I was standing still (I was not!). Also, the speed limit in Maryland seemed so slow (55 MPH), which I tried really hard to stick to in the interest of avoiding a ticket.

outside my doctor's office in Germany (1 of 4 parking spots)

Most of my posts go on and on about the wonders of Europe, but I’m grateful for many things in our former home state. Today I was reminded how much I liked the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. I also like really huge American parking spaces, which you all take for granted. Most of us over here can barely fit our cars into the spot, and then the door doesn’t open all the way so you are doing the limbo to get out without scratching the neighbor’s car.

I miss the salty air in Boston and Salem. The woods in Germany smell fresh, but the breezy brine is just something else. I get all sentimental when I hear a seagull here in Norway or see the ocean in the Netherlands. I don’t miss waiting around for the T in Boston. Near our house in Europe, they apologize if the train is one minute delayed!

Kelly's Roast Beef, Saugus, MA

I also miss the seafood in New England, especially lobstah! You can get fried fish filets in southern Germany (sometimes frozen), and plenty of seafood in the north of Germany, which is 7 hours away by car. My favorite in Hamburg is teeny tiny shrimps in mayo on a fresh roll (Nordseekrabbensalat). The last time I was in Massachusetts, I was like Forrest Gump: lobster roll, lobster salad, lobster pizza (meh), lobster bisque, whole lobster with butter, etc. etc. Too bad the prices are pretty high, but once per year or every other year, I can blow the budget on my favorite crustacean.

Dubuque, Iowa

The food in Europe is outstanding, but you have to make an effort to find healthy choices when dining out. I used to get Schnitzel all the time, but am definitely eating less meat, and the portion sizes are usually too big. Pretzels taste wonderful, and in the region where we are now, they are cut in half at the bakery and slathered with butter between the pretzel halves!!! Pastries here are ok, but French pastries are way better. I can’t really eat American baked goods any more because they taste way too sweet.

If you've ever had these, you know where they are from!

OK, more to come after some summer travels!

Perth & St. Andrew’s, Scotland

Our final location in Scotland was Perth, which we used as a base to visit St. Andrew’s on a day trip. The tour dinner in Perth included the option of haggis, which I passed on. Others at our table said that the way it was presented made it taste like shepherd’s pie (not too bad). The “Haggis Ceremony” included a bagpipe march around the room with a chef carrying the platter of Haggis, and a reading of a poem about haggis.

St. Andrew’s was chilly and windy but beautiful. I missed the ocean while living in Germany, so it was wonderfully sentimental for me to see sand and waves. The golfers in the group were thrilled to see such an elegant golf course and could have played as guests for 200 Pounds. 

There were lots of souvenir shops and thankfully a lovely used book store. If you have time for an extended tour of Scotland, I would recommend a day in St. Andrew’s.

Sticky Toffee pudding in Edinburgh

Perth was an interesting city. We got a tour of St. John’s Kirk, which blended the ancient stone walls with useful and pretty wood additions inside to subdivide the space. We passed interesting shops and cafes but did not have time to go into any of them.

Smoked Fish Stew on Iona

Overall, the food on the trip was good. Some was better than others, but it was no hardship dining in Scotland. There is an increase in vegetarian restaurants and understanding in traditional restaurants. Some of the dishes had unusual-to-me flavors, but it's more than worth trying something new.

Inverness, Nairn, and Culloden, Scotland!

The natural beauty of Scotland is remarkable. I couldn’t capture the photo I really wanted: dozens of wooly sheep on acres of green hillsides, wandering around to their hearts’ content. Maybe I can find a calendar of sheep grazing on the hillsides of Scotland.

After departing the Isle of Mull for the ferry to Oban, our bus was off to the highlands! Our first stop was at the interesting visitor center in Glencoe. We learned of the history of the area and had outstanding mac’n’cheese made with local dairy.

We continued on to Inverness, where we had a few hours to walk around and have dinner. Both the vegetarian places were closed for dinner, but we lucked out with a table at Mustard Seed and enjoyed a delicious and healthy meal. I wish we had more time in Inverness, but that is the hazard of taking an 8-day tour of a beautiful country including 2 islands on the west coast.

We stayed overnight in Nairn at my favorite hotel (except for the segregated/pathetic breakfast there, just for our tour group). The hotel room was huge and the bathtub was huge and there were 3 resident “hairy cows” on the property! We couldn’t find them in the morning on the meadow, but lucked out as we were returning to the hotel: 2 other group members had bought a basket of hay to feed to the cows, and the hotel staff told them where the cows were likely “hiding” (sleeping), and we tagged along. Adorable (IMHO) photo above.

The Highland Folk Museum was comprehensive and interesting! There was a sign asking guests to please keep the door to a house shut because the chickens liked to go inside. As I was admiring the chickens, someone else opened the house door and this is what happened (see video). Guess where the chickens were going?

Culloden was a sad battlefield that felt somber. Always good to learn about political conflicts that end in bloodshed- why do we keep repeating history? A short presentation by a highland clansman warrior was interesting and entertaining. The museum was comprehensive and the gift shop yielded us our Christmas cards!

We continued on to Perth… stay tuned!

Off the beaten path in Scotland: Isles of Iona and Mull, Oban

There are many islands off the west coast of Scotland, and we were thrilled to have the chance to return to Iona. Our tour itinerary had us depart Edinburgh in the morning, stop in Glasgow for the cathedral and a rest room/café, and then continue on to the port of Oban. 

The cathedral in Glasgow was lovely! I wish we had more time in the city, but by the end of the day, I understood why we had moved on so soon.

After enjoying a hot chocolate made with oat "milk" at the Oban ferry terminal, we boarded a car ferry along with many passengers who were bringing their groceries and small pieces of furniture onto the ferry! They left all their bags and wheelie carts in the lobby of the ferry without concern.

We stayed at a hotel on the Island of Mull for two nights. The first morning we rode the bus across Mull to another ferry, which brought us to Iona. Spending part of a day on Iona is quite a different experience compared with being there several nights. However, it was a lovely experience, and for some tourists might be the only way possible. 

We strolled along the lanes and made some new discoveries. A wonderful smoked fish stew hit the spot for one of us, and we learned that there is now an Iona tartan pattern. I asked the clerk if I had simply missed it 20 years ago, and she honestly replied that it had been created since then.

I wish we had been able to participate in a service or group meditation/prayer/song, but we did that at other times, not on Iona. Another hot cocoa and a glimpse of our first “hairy cows” of Scotland completed the day. We returned on the short ferry to Mull, and took the bus back to our hotel.

The following morning we rose early for the ferry back to Oban, then off to the highlands!

Scotland in several parts: Edinburgh to start and finish

We flew to Scotland for our final European farewell trip before moving back to the USA! Edinburgh is a crowded city with amazing architecture and lots to see. We had a friendly and chatty cab driver from the airport, and our hotel was well located on “Cowgate”, one of the ground level streets at the bottom of the hill of old town, just a few minutes walk from the Royal Mile. 

Our walking tour brought us past the café where J.K. Rowling wrote the Harry Potter books, but we didn’t have time to go in, plus there was a long line of people. Behind the café is a cemetery where she strolled and looked for names on tomb stones as inspiration for characters, including Tom Riddle.

St. Giles Cathedral was beautiful, complete with a thundering organ for hymns, and the most amazing choir stalls I have ever seen- seriously, check out the photo above: each singer had their own music stand built in with a light! The evening concert there included orchestra music for kids, and I have never seen so many listeners under 12 years old at any concert (Peter and the Wolf, Harry Potter music, Frozen, etc.).

The architecture is amazing, and although we were chilly, it was interesting wandering the streets and shops. The National Museum was terrific, complete with a history of Scotland, along with a science/animal life/outer space section and a transportation section for kids and adults alike. The lower level café had a yummy smoked fish stew!

We highly recommend Edinburgh to all travelers with good mobility. There are cobblestones, hills, and stairs everywhere. There are elevators and taxis, too, and new town doesn’t have the same architectural charms/challenges as old town, so be aware and prepared in order to enjoy all the city has to offer.

What I’ve been learning in school!

Going back to graduate school after working full time for decades is not too bad. That said, I’m grateful for the G.I. Bill, which allows me to be a student and not have to worry about bringing in a paycheck at the same time. Good thing, since I couldn’t find a social work job in this corner of Germany!

Last walk through "our" woods in Germany

Anyway, my classes are really interesting, so here’s a sneak peak:

“Lutheran Ethics” includes reading about Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who participated in the resistance movement during WWII. We are also reading the social statements here about diverse topics such as the care for our creation, peace, and many other relevant topics. I was very sorry to learn that Martin Luther wrote some terrible things about others, including Jewish people. I want to offer my apology over that transgression. Growing up, I had only heard about Luther saying that some practices of the Catholic church were not in accordance with his understanding about the Bible, which I agreed with.

I don't normally sit in my car for class, just when our home router is packed up!

In “21^st Century Leadership” we read a wonderful booklet by Henry Nouwen, whose writing I highly recommend. We are learning about boundaries, servant leadership, and organizational development. There have been guest lecturers in both classes. I am participating by a video conferencing service called “Zoom” from my home in Germany, and either watching the class live or checking out the recording the next day if it’s too late at night for me. I’m really glad that I met my classmates and professors in person during the first week of September in Iowa.

 

Hotel restaurant in Frankfurt, Germany before our flight

What, you ask, are “plural worlds”? I have had some tough textbooks, where I needed an English dictionary to understand the vocabulary words! In “theological orientation”, students “explore the place and meanings of religion for human life in our contemporary and culturally plural worlds…”  I hope I will pass this class! I’m spending plenty of time in the Bible as well as other documents, such as the “Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification”. The class is basically about how Jesus and Christianity interact with other faiths around the world. Let me know if you want details!

In Research, I’m learning all the nifty things I can see from really far away. For example, I borrowed a Bible Commentary from the military library near where we live, and it was published in 1971. This tome is POUNDS heavy but full of interesting information. Now, the Bible itself has not changed since then, but I thought our living situation & upcoming transition would be a good time for me to go online and see about other commentaries through the school library.  I’m also reminded about how many millions of hits you can get on information you don’t want when you search for a topic with more than 1 word.

 

German garden show over many acres

In my course about the minor prophets, we’ve read Hosea, Joel, and are starting on Amos now. Classes have written assignments and also a new type of discussion board called a voice thread. I was nervous about those at first, but now feel that they are way better than typed discussion boards. The professor asks a question and students make a short video recording of their answer. Then each student replies to 2 other students (same as a regular discussion board), except again in a short video comment. 

In Spiritual Practices we are also reading Bible passages each week, always including a Psalm, and reading a terrific book by Deanna A. Thompson, “The Virtual Body of Christ in a Suffering World”. How can faith communities support people through web-based methods? Some might say “no way, no how”, but for ill, homebound, snowbound, or people with long work schedules, online church may be their only church. Prayer can also be done on Facebook (see Planting Roots).

OK, that’s it for today. Ask some questions, and you’ll eventually get some answers!

Thermal pools from Stuttgart

After 4.5 years in Germany, we continue to enjoy our favorite thermal pools and try new ones from time to time. When we lived in Rhineland-Pfalz (near Landstuhl/Ramstein), our go-to place was the Saarland Therme. We haven’t been there since moving to Stuttgart but have new experiences and recommendations.

No photos of the thermal baths to share with you, due to privacy and courtesy inside. German “thermalbads” are usually built over natural hot springs, the oldest of which are located in towns starting with the word “Bad” = bath. Before moving to Stuttgart, we had already been to Baden-Baden, where we went to the thermal pool WITH BATHING SUITS. The famous Friedrichsbad is “textile free” so we did not go there. The Caracalla pools in Baden-Baden are not as large compared with other locations, but they make for a nice break if you want to keep your bathing suit on. There were a lot of kids when I popped in for the 1.5 hour ticket to warm up during a day trip from Stuttgart for the Christmas markets. It was sooooo cold that day, and it was glorious to warm up in the water, watching the steam rise from the outdoor pool, which you can get to from the indoor pool by swimming through a short passageway with plastic flaps over the exit.

Our favorite close-to-Stuttgart place is in Beuren, about 45 minutes down the A-8 towards Munich. The Panorama Therme has LOTS of pools for bathing suit clad people, and also a sauna area for textile-free. There are 3 indoor pools, one of which has massage stations around the sides where you stand for a minute or so and jets are aimed at your legs, back, etc. There are 3 outdoor pools, one of which is COLD, but that makes some people happy. With your bathing suit on, you have a choice of 3 steam rooms, 2 with a fragrance in the air, 1 salt steam. 2 saunas and 2 relaxation rooms complete the choices (with bathing suits). I don’t use the heat lamp room and the whirlpool is too hot for me except on the coldest winter day, but they are there for you. The restaurant is being renovated, but the snack bar has a few hot lunch/dinner choices and many Germans bring a picnic to be consumed in the picnic room. There are loungers out on the lawn, with umbrellas or without. There is a nice restaurant on the other side of the parking lot with the best home-made ice cream in Germany, according to Jeff.

We also recommend the Franken Therme, a sold 2 hour drive north-east from Stuttgart, near Rothenburg ob der Tauber. You can do it in a day, but it would be a nice weekend, too, either at a hotel next to the baths, or in Rothenburg or Nuremberg, another 30 minutes or so further. The Franken Therme features salt water pools, several of which offer a foam flotation device to put around your neck so you can float freely and gaze at the sky. What an amazing experience! Two of the indoor pools are lightly salted and slightly floaty, one of which has massage stations. One outdoor pool is very salty and under a clear, rounded canopy, with plastic flaps to the outdoor salt pool. There is another slightly salty outdoor pool, a restaurant, and a textile free sauna area. We got the 4.5 hour pass for 15 Euros, and when you purchase at least 9 Euros of food while inside the pool area, you get an extra 30 minutes in the pools for free. There are plenty of chairs outside, a good number inside, and a pleasant relaxation room that is supposed to be quiet (excepting those relaxed souls who are snoring!). Lots of folks brought picnics and ate bakery items right on the indoor lounge chairs. 

The PCS ring binder (episode 3)

I got out the PCS ring binder today! Why, oh, why is this move thing called a “Permanent Change of Station” (PCS) when it’s going to last 2-3 years and then happen again? Oh well, I have more important things to do than argue about a poorly-named situation.

It feels like we are in a "doorway moment" in life

Does anyone else keep their PCS ring binder tucked away as-is for next time? Ours sat in our first home in Germany for nearly 3 years, and has rested here in Stuttgart for 1.5 years now. Why reinvent the wheel when it’s the same thing again?

We went to Mainau AGAIN... stop and smell the roses amidst the uncertainty

Task #1 = clean out leftover paperwork from the last move, such as old utility close-out bills from our former place. Ensure empty plastic sleeves and fresh lined notebook paper in every tab.

Recent trip to Indiana

Task #2 = make notes of what is going to be different. Some tabs are the same, such as “current home” and “new home”, while other tabs need adjusting. Our last move within Germany was door to door, and we loaded the cats into our cars that we just drove to the new place. Moving across the ocean involves 2 different shipments: everything in our house, and a smaller load of things we need more quickly. We are considering not shipping a car, since we are  moving to snow land, thus needing a vehicle more sturdy than the beloved Prius.

Another painting class at the arts'n'crafts center

Task #3 = start filling in sections as feasible. For example, a list of items to give away or sell before we move. Give away house plants, an older carpet, etc. Sell IKEA glass-fronted cabinet that will never survive the move. Make veterinarian appointments for the cats. Phone numbers of temporary lodging (military hotel) in all locations. Research housing options in the new location. Rent or buy?

One of three pools at our local community "Freibad" (outdoors)

Not in the ring binder: begin clearing out our belongings more ruthlessly than before. Donate, throw away, shred, or keep? We are in the “hurry up and wait” phase, which will drag out seemingly forever, and then lickety split we’ll be in zooming around mode. Stay tuned! Any PCS ring binder tips?