Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Leavin' on a Jet Plane...

We are not all the way packed yet but we are sure ready to go. Philippines, we will see you soon!

I already have my list of things to eat:
- Lanzones
- Santol
- Fishballs (little balls of deep-fried fish on a skewer, then dipped into various sauces)
- Taho
- Green mango with bagoong

Goodness, my mouth is watering just thinking about all the good food I'll be able to eat again after a decade!

If you would like to know more about where we are going, here is an awesome website I discovered about the Philippines that is both beautiful to look at and full of interesting information: SeƱor Enrique's Blog. Seriously, I've never seen the Philippines through a photographer's eyes before, and I'd have to say, it's quite beautiful.

I'm not sure what my blogging schedule will be like over there, so this blog may go by the wayside for a few weeks. But before I leave, here are some recent pictures I've been meaning to share...



I'm a moviestar!

I took several photos of this event and she had the exact same expression each time.

Modeling Grandma Kathy's present. Check out my Modelface, yo!

One of the many beautiful buildings in Antwerpen.

Store front in Belgium (I'll have to find out the name of the town).


Crazy colorful half-a-dragon on the side of a building.

We'll see you guys later!

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Just to Clarify...

Germans call their home Deutschland.

Amsterdam is in the Netherlands, though if you ask anyone in Amsterdam, they'll tell you it's in Holland.

Even though Holland is a province of the Netherlands, people who live in Holland act as though it's a separate entity.

Everyone who lives in the Netherlands are called Dutch, but they're not Deutsch.

The Deutsch are the Germans.


*this has been your public service announcement*

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Tiny Dancer

For Christmas, Amelia's Aunt Christina gave her a cd full of songs to play in the car. This is what happened when we finally decided to break it in...

Wanderings: Denmark February 2009

Well hello there! We are finally back from our 4-day jaunt through Germany, Sweden and Denmark and boy, are we tired! Our butts are sore from sitting for so long, and our cheeks are chapped from the biting wind. The places were beautiful, but like we found in our London trip, sightseeing is no fun when you're cold and miserable. As it was, most of my pictures were taken out of a moving car, or quick little park-and-shoots. Also, the sun did not show herself the entire trip, which makes for really dark photographs!

Sunday, we left our little town in Germany and headed off to Berlin to stay the night...


A view of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. I loved the juxtaposition of a destroyed relic of the war and the brand new buildings.


Checkpoint Charlie, where once stood the gate through the Berlin Wall. Traces of the wall itself is no longer visible.


The Brandenburger Gate

After our tour of Berlin, we stayed the night in Malmo, Sweden. We had no real intentions of going to Sweden this trip, but ended up finding a slightly cheaper hotel there than in Denmark. But, as luck would have it, we ended up spending more because of the toll bridge ($50!!) between the two countries. To rub the salt in a little further, the four-star hotel was decorated sparsely... no carpet, small bed, tiny room, no fitness center. So beware of the Scandinavian Decorating Theory.

On Tuesday, we finally headed off to Copenhagen, and found that it was much too cold to do any walking. Such is the weather along coastlines, I suppose. So more photographs were taken out of a moving car.


A Copenhagen intersection with the "THE" store.


A city square


We did stop and park to find the very elusive Little Mermaid. She is well hidden and is actually pretty small for being "the Statue of Liberty of Copenhagen." Nevertheless, she is quite stunning and melancholy.


We stopped in Roskilde, which used to be Denmark's capital but was replaced by Copenhagen. We toured the Viking Ship Museum which was overpriced (as was the food in the museum restaurant) but interesting. I never knew a pile of rotten wood could be so thought-provoking.

Tuesday night, we stayed at the Mercure Hotel in Bremen, Germany. The area was pretty happenin' for 11 p.m. on a week night, but it was right next to a train station so it wasn't too much of a surprise. There was also a museum and a cinema within 2 minutes walking distance.

The train station in Bremen. Inside were many stores and eateries.

Thus ends our trip. So as for Lia's Country Count: USA, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Liechtenstein, Austria, Switzerland, France, England, Sweden, Denmark. Philippines, here we come!

Back From Wanderings...

We are back from our little jaunt to Sweden and Denmark! Pictures to come soon!

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Random German (or European) Fact

Spanking your kids in public will result in the police being called and your child being taken away. Not beating your kid, mind you, but spanking.

However, I have personally noted, it is okay to leave your infant in a sled at the side of a busy road rendered slippery after a huge snowstorm, while you shovel your driveway.

Leaving your kid in harms way – fine. But public displays of discipline – BIG no-no.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Just a Theory...

If you're a mother, could you please do me a favor? Look at the skin between your thumb and pointer finger – that webby stuff – and tell me, is it calloused?