Back in the saddle: 4 years as an expat in Germany

If it is not obvious, this little blog has been sitting collecting dust for the last two years. At this point, I figure it is either time to resurrect it, or ship it off to the funeral home to be buried, forgotten, and turned to dust. Since I am writing, I suppose that clemency has been granted... at least a temporary stay on the blog graveyard. I suppose at this point, my ramblings should focus on something.



So here it is. I live in Germany, and have for the last 4 years. I have a pretty good understanding of this country and how to navigate it. I also have been all over. So here is what I propose. I will write about living in Europe (specifically Germany) and how to navigate the system. Also, since I am here and everywhere is pretty close, I will be updating about my travels. NO, not a travel blog. Rather it is more of a "how to" and "what" do you do when you live in Europe blog.

I am a bit unique in my story. Essentially, I moved here to get an MBA, but did it with my wife, 6 week old daughter, and two dogs in tow. Now 4 years later, the MBA is done, one daughter is now two, two dogs are one, and I am living the life of a German employee. No, I am not here on some fancy, pay for it all and the paperwork is done for you, expat contract. Rather, I applied for a job with a German company, went through the normal interview process, landed the job, pay for my own housing, and completed all city registrations by myself. In short, I did it the hard way. But I learned the system, which is pretty priceless.

Anyhow, I have some renewed interest to put out information that hopefully is interesting, relevant, and useful. I hope you find me, read up and enjoy. Cheers

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No Time Like the Present

I suppose that it is about time I update this blog, and actually write something. As is the normal course of events, I got swamped in "real life" duties, and have not had the energy, time, nor enthusiasm to write anything.

Today I have some impetus to put my thoughts down. I have no idea where it is coming from, but suspect I am excited about my upcoming trip to Venice to see some old friends.

Having moved to Leipzig over 8 months ago, I have sort of lost track of time, and of course, some friends. It is a bigger challenge to invite someone over to dinner and have them actually say "yes". Rather there is the usual Facebook chatter that keeps us all connected with the people we want to stay in contact with, but can't be in the same location.

So, when there is news that someone I know from my previous lives is coming to Europe, I get excited about the possibility of getting together with them. Since my wife and daughter moved out in January, we have had one group of really close friends come to visit, and had a blast the whole time they were here. It was a bit stressful balancing my regular school schedule with the fun they were having, but I did my best and am alive to talk about it.

So that is where Venice comes in. A great friend, who was my roommate while I was on tour with Blast!, and a groomsman at my wedding, will be coming to Italy with his wife for a week. Loving Italy, having not been there since I landed in Europe this time, and having never been to Venice were the final motivating factors that led me to easyjet.com, and 250 euro later, a trip planned to visit friends.

Of course, Rick Steves Italy is now on the Kindle and I'm trying to figure a little about what to do and see. Unfortunately I'll only see my friends for a day, but one is better than nothing. However, it leaves me a bunch of time to kill and photos to take. I just need to know what to see with the time, and which photos I want to take. I like to have a couple of highlights figured out so I can make sure not to miss them.

Oh well, I have one and a half weeks to prepare, and if it goes anything like normal, I'll end up there and stumble my way through the long weekend, bouncing from one eating establishment to the next, and burning the images of what is in-between onto the sensor of my camera.

Vivere La Dolce Vita in Italia!

Sweet! Now I just need to brush up on my Italian and I'm set to go!

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Thanksgiving Presents!

What an amazing treat...and just in time for Thanksgiving.

Alessandra Mae was born on November 18th at 12:33 PM in Colorado Springs, CO.

The timing worked out great.  My changed flight from Berlin to Denver arrived 30 minutes early on Tuesday.  Charmy and I spent Wednesday enjoying each other.....I ate Mexican food, which was fantastic and had been on my list of things to do once arriving state side.

Then Thursday came.  I'm lucky and so grateful that I have a healthy wife and baby girl.  I love them both a bunch!  Especially when Alessandra pinches mommy!  If I can't enjoy them for the next year, someone has too!

Just some highlights from the "Hotel".  More to come.  

So much to experience..... I guess now is a good time to start!!

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East and West

For the last 20 years, reunification has been an ongoing process in Germany.  Looking in from the outside I never really understood the challenges that faced the people involved in the process.  After having lived in the old "East Germany" for the past 45 days I have started to see that there are still challenges to overcome.... but that is not really what I want to talk about.

Rather I would like to briefly comment on the resiliency of the German people and the admiration I have for those that stood together for freedom 21 years ago.

In 1989 Leipzig was the center of the peaceful Monday Demonstrations that started on the 4th of September and ran through March of 1990. These protests were a major contributor in the fall of Communism in the East. This movement is now remembered and celebrated on October 9th, which also happens to be near the anniversary of the creation of the DDR (GDR) on October 7th 1949.  Regardless, October 9th is now the day to celebrate those who stood together against communism.

The movement started in the Nikolaikirche in Leipzig, and by 9 October 1989, 70,000 East Germans had joined the demonstrations... the whole time remaining peaceful.  By October 16th the number had swelled to nearly 120,000 people and the following week to 320,000 (Leipzig has a population of roughly 500,000).  All the while the East German army stood on the sidelines waiting for the order to put a stop to the protests.  However, due to the massive size of the movement the military was ordered to stand down and withdraw.  I was fortunate enough this year to attend the 21st anniversary of the Monday Demonstrations, at the Nikolaikirche, with some of those who risked everything in the name of freedom.

It was really a touching thing for me.  As a person raised in the US having never experienced anything other than freedom, I cannot fully appreciate the struggle that the people around me faced 21 years ago.  However, while sitting in the church there was something special happening and it was thick in the air.  There was no cheering or shouts of joy, but rather somber reflection on what used to be, the opportunities that lie ahead and most importantly an understanding of the responsibility that comes with freedom.

It is inspiring for me to see the faces of those who were willing to accept unlimited risk and total uncertainty all in the name of freedom.  I think that Americans have a lot to learn about what it means to be free and the sacrifices that come in the name of Freedom.

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Updating my Photos Page

I have decided to update my photo page.  A couple of pictures of my dogs, while cute, are really not that interesting!


The photos on this page will be my most interesting photos (based on flicker.com) and a little bit about how I took it, what kind of post processing I used etc.  I may add some additional stuff from time to time, but I think this is going to be relatively static.


So without further ado.


#1
    
The Roman Colosseum
  
I took this photo on our most recent trip to Italy in February of 2010.  While we had spent most of our time around Naples, on the island of Ischia, we decided to close our our travels with a couple of days in Rome.  And I'm so glad we did.


It think everyone knows about the Roman Colosseum and how gladiators fought there etc....but I learned a couple things that I hadn't known before.  For instance, during events at the Colosseum, there used to be giant tarps that were hoisted on a cable system to create a roof over the audience.  Pretty neat, an indoor stadium in 80 AD. 


About this shot.  The technical aspects are pretty straight forward.  Of course it was taken on a tripod.  It really is the only way to go!  The one thing that I will change the next time I take this same photo is that I'll make sure to drop the ISO down to 100 or 200.  On the .raw image there is not much noise, but regardless, it would have been better with a lower ISO.


25 Second Exposure
f/13.0  
18mm
ISO 400


It is a pretty typical shot of the Colosseum, but then it has been photographed so many times it is hard to be original.  Where I decided to focus my attention was on capturing the light trails of passing cars right at the base of the structure. I felt that by doing this I kept the image grounded, didn't interfere with a clear look at the building, but also kept a sense of how dynamic and full of life Rome is.  I have both the color and B&W shots.  For some reason people like the B&W better, and honestly I do too.  Had I been in the right place 15 minutes earlier I would have captured the blue hour, but missed it.  Oh well, that is what next time is for!


Post processing was very minimal.  A little bump in the contrast, Backing off the highlights just a bit and some sharpening were all it took.  It was all done in Digital Photo Professional.  Nice and Easy!


Stay tuned for #2...

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30 Days Down

Well my first 30 days here in Germany are complete!  What a ride it has been.  The first two weeks were full of pretty intense travel where the goal was to show the old man and my brother as much as possible.  The last three weeks have been a blur of school related activity...and today reality hit when I realized it has been a month.

I have been married for 8 years, so a one month anniversary seems a little ridiculous.

"I am in a committed relationship."

"Great!   How long have you been together?"

"You wouldn't believe it if I told you.  It's been 30."

"Shoot, that long!  You don't look that old!"

"Yeah I know, the last 30 days have been good to me!"

What the hell, it is an excuse to get a couple of drinks and some dinner (not that I have needed any excuses so far).  Regardless, one month is still a milestone, a step along the way, and should be celebrated! 

The scary part about the whole thing is that it has only seemed like a week since I got my passport stamped in Berlin.

The old saying holds true, time flies when you are having fun!






The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

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In One Piece

Just so everyone is up to date.  I am alive and all is well in Leipzig!

The last two weeks have been hectic, getting an apartment, registering for school, registering with the city, opening up a bank account, and the myriad of other things that require setting up which are necessary for day to day life.

Outside of all of the required tasks, we (me, Dad and Joel) have had the opportunity to see some of the country.  We have actually spent very little time looking at Leipzig.  I suppose there is always time in the future for me to see all the sights that are close by to where now reside.

A real quick re-cap

1 day Berlin whirlwind - mostly waiting at the airport for Joel to arrive

2 days Leipzig - apartment, bank acct, register (both school and city)

4 days Munich - Beer, castles, churches, driving on the autobahn (only 165 kph), seeing friends from the US, a concentration camp, more beer, more castles!

2 days Leipzig - more school stuff and hooking up light fixtures in the bathroom

2 days Dresden - you can probably guess, beer, castles, churches, and ......well beer!

Here are some quick photo highlights...real quick because I haven't had time to even look through them all yet!

Dresden - Katholische Hofkirche

Dresden - Semperoper

Dachau Concentration Camp

Dachau Concentration Camp

Schloss Linderhof

Munich - Wittelsbach Residenz

Leipzig - Thomaskirche (Bach is buried here!)

I'll try to fill in some detail when I have more time available....until then I hope you enjoy!

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