Monday, August 4, 2008

Travels: Germany

Monday, August 4th


To keep my promise and post "one picture a day" from my Germany trip I would like to start with these pics below from my 3 day trip to North Germany. After a super mellow 10 hour flight from DFW to Berlin via Amsterdam my sister and niece whom I haven't seen in almost 2 years :( picked me up at the airport with big smiles on their faces. It was great and the fact that my luggage didn't arrive with me didn't even bother me that much. First we went to my cousin's house where I met her new baby and also had the chance to hang out with my favorite aunt. Later that night we drove to a beautiful village up noth named "Luttum" near Bremen to meet up with my other cousin and her family. After hours of talking & drinking a couple of German beers I went to bed at around 1:30 am. The next morning we got up early and went on a day trip to Bremen which is only about 30 min. from Luttum. The weather was typically German: rainy, unsteady, a constant change between warm & cold. We walked around the old city center which is so beautiful and full of history. Here are a few pictures of today to give you an impressions of what it looked like.


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My niece Josephine:


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Tuesday, August 5th


We spent the day in Cuxhaven, a town right by the North Sea. Altough it was super windy and pretty cold for August (only 65 degrees) we went on a little boat tour first and then hung out by the beach for the rest of the day. It was my niece's first time at the sea and it was amazing to watch her go crazy over all the sea shells, waves and sand. Here are a few pics of today:


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Wednesday, August 6th


Today is my husband's birthday!! I love & miss you baby!!!


We got up and the girls & I drove to a small town named Verden for some shopping, drove back to Luttum and had lunch with the kids. We decided to spend the afternoon in the yard, have some yummy soy milk coffee and play with the kids. It was nice & quiet quality family time. It was sad having to leave Luttum at around 7 pm to drive to Leipzig but of course I was excited to meet with my best friend Tanja that I haven't seen in a while. We hung out on my sisters balcony till 3 am having beer & girl talk... Here's a photo from the Luttum Crew ;)


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Friday, August 8th


I spent the past 2 days in Leipzig, hung out with my sister & Josee at the lake, met with my Dad and went out with a few friends. I love this city. There is always something to do plus most my friends and family live here. The weather is beautiful. 75 degrees, sunny, a little rainshower every ones in a while... Below are pics of, for example, my favorite beverage ever! It is called "Federweisser" and is sort of really fresh but only a half way done wine. You can only get it at this time of the year. It's sweet and yummy!!


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Sunday, August 10th


Saturday my Dad, Josee and I spent half the day at the park in Leipzig. I managed to shoot a couple of pictures of Josee that turned out pretty cute. We ate dinner at the Conne Island, the coolest place in all of the world and met with some friends. Later that night Tanja and I went to the Conne Island Disco. Good times! Since there is NO last call in Germany we decided to go home around 6 am. Of course I woke up with a hangover :) Below are some pictures of Josee's session at the park:


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Wednesday, August 13th


I have to apologize for not blogging in 3 days but I have been super busy in Gera, the town I was born in. I am visiting my Dad with my sister and Josee. Monday we just walked around the park, things have changed quite a bit here. Tuesday was all about helping my Dad with his business. He is the wonderful architect that designed our Dallas loft. I prepared his taxes so he doesn't have to mess with that. We went out after work and hung out downtown Gera at a new bar. It was nice sitting outside, drinking Vodka and talking the night away...
Today we drove to a small town named Ronneburg. During the past 50 years the town was only known because of their gigantic uranium mines. Pretty scary. Well, those days are over and the landscape has been reconstructed. We had amazing German lunch at an old-school restaurant on top of the hills that overlook Gera. I ate Bratkartoffeln & pickles, a simple meal but oh so yummy!!! The afternoon was all about reuniting with some friends from school. You know you are old(er) when all your friends are married and have kids... Tomorrow I have my first paid photoshoot in Leipzig. I am excited!!


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Thursday, August 14th


I drove back to Leipzig today. Some friends and I went to the Conne Island for breakfast. Since I live in Dallas I miss this part the most: Sitting outside with good friends, eating homemade vegan food, drinking coffee & listing to some good punk rock music. *sigh* Right after I had a shooting with Emma. We went to an old abandoned factory that had graffiti sprayed all over it. Here are a couple of pics from our session:


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Friday, August 15th


Today is Lilly's birthday!!! Lilly is my step daugther and probably the coolest kid on the face of the earth. She's turning 10 and on her way to become a tattoo artist. In case you haven't seen her CNN interview from last week yet, you can watch it here:

Kid tattoo artist charges $5

Happy Birthday Lilly !!! I love and miss you !!!

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PS. I will not be able to blog until Sunday because Tanja and I are going to the "Endless Summer Open Air", a punk rock festival in Torgau. We will be sleeping in a tent with no internet connection ;)


Monday, August 18th


I got back from the festival early afternoon yesterday, slept a couple of hours and then met with some friends at the Conne Island for dinner. It was yummy as usual. Since it was Sunday my sister and I watched the new episode of "Tatort" (a German criminal story) afterward. Today was all about shopping. We went to 3 different H&M's and a few other stores... I took a couple of photos for my blog. Tomorrow I'll try to take some more pics of Leipzig so you guys can see what this city looks like...


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Thursday, August 21st


I spent the last couple of days in Leipzig doing nothing but hanging out with my friends. Tuesday Verena and I went on a quest to find her a formal dress to wear at a friend's wedding. We did not succeed. It still was fun and we ended our shopping trip with an amazing dinner at Zest, a vegetarian restaurant that my friend Sarah from Dallas owns. If you ever visit Leipzig you have to eat there. I had a seitan steak with blackberry risotto, mangold and vanilla creme sauce. It was sooooooo good!! Yesterday my Dad came by to stay with me at my sister's house to spend some family time. We went downtown to shoot some pictures of Leipzig and cooked a yummy traditional German dinner: Thueringer Kloesse, (tofu) roast and red kraut. Might sound weird but it was a hit :) A couple of good friends came by afterward to go dancing. We decided to go to the Moritzbastai "All you can dance" disco. It was so much fun. Since there is no last call in Germany we stayed up way to late and didn't leave until 4:30 am.... This morning we all met again for brunch at the Conne Island, a must do every Thursday. My dear friend and fellow photographer Thomas took me to see his studio. We spent hours looking at his latest pictures. His work always amazes me. Check out his work: www.thomaskretzschmar.com

Last but not least, a few pictures of one of the most beautiful cities in Germany - Leipzig.


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Friday, August 22


Today was pretty relaxed. My Dad, Tanja and I went for a walk with Debbie - Tanja's dog. One of the coolest things about Leipzig is its green belt. Huge parks are everywhere. Here are a couple of pics from today:


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Wednesday, August 27th


I know I haven't blogged in forever. I'm still having a great time in Germany, meeting with friends, enjoying L.E. and so on. I also had 5 (!) photo sessions last weekend that I will post when I get back to Dallas. After saying "Good Bye" to my Dad and my closest friends today I got on a train to Berlin where I will be staying till I fly back to the U.S. on Monday. The following pictures are of the Cospudener See, where I took Kristin's pictures on Sunday and also of the Conne Island, the club I've been writing so much about.


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Sunday, August 31st


Today is my last day in Germany :( I am really sad about leaving because I had such a great time. Luckily I am taking a piece of Germany with me. My sister & Josee will be staying in Dallas with us for the next month. It makes it easier not to get homesick too quick. I know I am going to miss my Dad, my Brother, Tanja, Basti & Verena, Anja, Thomas, Doritt and so many others though and I hope that Stephen and I will be able to go to Europe together next year. As you know I spent the last days of my trip in Berlin. I love this city!!! I took tons of pictures but was not able to work on a lot them yet. Below are just a few of two of my favorite things about this amazing city: Street Art & Der Fernsehturm:


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Good Bye Germany and see you soon!! <3