we weresterdam

amsterdam is rivers and smiles and flowers and boats and bikes and bikes and bikes and bridges and blooms and rembrandt and van gogh and prince orange and firefighters from kentucky.

sam and i went local with rented bikes and rural with pitched tents. we wandered canaled boulevards for hours and hours, we sat on canaled ledges for days, we sipped espresso in canaled cafes for weeks. we simmered in the dutch oven until ready for dishing.

i've said it a few times this year: i could live here. bonn, vienna, köln, berlin, and onward. but the dam was different. i want to live there. i'll get me a black bike, a tailored navy blue suit with slick brown shoes, and i'll be on my way.

visit amsterdam. discounting the chi, the coolest city i've ever seen.


love, al!

that new fad, jogging?

I believe it's jogging, or yogging, it might be a soft j. I'm not sure but apparently you just run for an extended period of time. It's supposed to be wild.


After countless stops and starts, I think it's for real this time. I am jogging regularly! 6 days in a row now, between 20 and 30 minutes each day. I go really slow and not very far, but the best part is that I wake up now and feel like I want to go running. Which is the key- the struggle of getting out and doing it is more than half the battle. And now that my day feels (or would feel) empty without it, I've got to do it and I enjoy it.
It also allows me to see Heidelberg at it's most beautiful. Mornings around 7:30 or 8, it's very quiet and the sun isn't too direct. The river sparkles and I'm alone except for fellow yoggers and my GirlTalk/DaftPunk jams.
Below is a map of the Altstadt or center of Heidelberg: notice the three bridges. I live just south of the middle bridge. Before this new running binge, I would decide (once every two weeks) to go for a run and choose one of two routes- the short route, which would be the circuit of the middle and eastern bridges. The "long" route would be the middle and the western bridges. But today, guess what, I ran from my house, near the middle bridge, over to the east bridge, crossed the river, allll the way to the west bridge, crossed again, and back! Boo yah. It feels great.
Not sure what my goals are, if any. As they say, it's the journey that's the goal.
But really, I want to be able to jog up to the castle, run around the gardens a bit, and walk down. That's a good goal to work towards.

Go Bulls.

jetsetting

Hello!

I haven't been able to post for a while because of my (surprise!) trip to Chicago last week. Lukas was in the musical Beauty and the Beast as Lumiere and my parents decided I had to see it. Follow the links here for a short clip. He was fantastic. I am quite proud of him.

Being in Chicago was strange, to be sure. I was there as a visitor, which hasn't ever happened before. I was able to see everyone though: Phil came for the weekend to see the show, Dom was around for a bit, I hopped down to Hyde Park for Smug Bastard Movie Night, and went bowling for Sam's birthday. I met the dog- he likes me. Samantha drew upwards of 15 pictures for the blank wall in my bedroom. Hannah cried when she saw me. And I got to hang out with my Mom and Dad. We were all together for a short time on Friday, and I could see how proud my parents were to have everyone there. Family is important.

I also got to eat everything I'd missed, I think: Ribs, Chipotle, deep dish pizza, Johnnie's. Not a bad week.

But now the real journey begins: I leave tonight for Rome! I'll be there (and in the Vatican) until Tuesday next week. Then I fly to Athens, and the next day to Santorini, an island in the southern Aegean. Then after two days there back to Athens to tour that city, and then back. Whew! There'll be lots of walking, lots of reading in cafes, lots of writing about my experiences. I'll post when I get the chance. Also pictures.

So until then, take care and let's go Spring!

Love al.

Things I like

döner. mit zwiebeln und scharfe soße.

things i love

post #1 in a long series called

"Things I love about Germany"
essentially, a set of pros that i come across in daily life, that place the culture and lifestyle above that of my dear chicago's.

• as I wandered around for a bakery at lunch today, looking for a brötchen or something to carry me over to cereal for dinner, i stumble onto a fruit market. buy some delicious grapes, and top it off with a feuerwurst with mustard. so good!