Mark aka Smacko
Taylor aka TayRay
I am a 27 year old person living in Nuremberg, Germany with my partner, Taylor. This site gives a nice overview of our lives since moving from Chicago, USA in 2019. Thanks for checking it out and we really hope you have a wonderful day!
- Smacko
One Rule: ELE - Everybody Love Everybody (Semi Pro, 2008)
Murdock:
Bella:
Arthur:
Gus:
Finn:
Mia:
Violet:
Scout:
Bler:
Winston:
Kai:
More good puppers:
November 1, 2021
Leg Day
Michi and I went to the gym for leg day! It was a great workout.
October 2, 2021
Bamberg!!
We went to Bamberg to see how many breweries we could visit! It was a drunk day trip, but gosh is this city pretty!! I really enjoyed walking thru the city from brewery to brewery. I really did not enjoy the rauchbier (only one brewery, but still not my favorite)
October 3, 2021
Biking!
This person had two kids and a large doggo in the cargo compartment of her bike. I do not want to own a car. I want to live in a place where owning a cool bike suffices!
October 7, 2021
Flying to Chicago
I love walking on the runway. Had to wake up really early this day, but it was a cool day.
Layover in Amsterdam. Had to try some local beer ;)
My folks picked me up from the airport and I drank local beer out of a White Sox baseball bat! Its good to be home!
October 8, 2021
Chicago
Spent time with my family and had an awesome day. My parents drove me to my brother's new apartment for dinner and I took this picture of the skyline (from a distance).
Had a delicious burger for lunch! It even had an USA flag on it. This restaurant (Poor Phil's) is one that I would go to with my parents quite often, so it was good to follow tradition again.
HAD to get deep dish pizza! A Chicago classic! It was so good, but spending time with my family made it even better!
October 9, 2021
Arthur
We played in a volleyball tournament in Milwaukee this day, but I spent a lot of time with Dan, Panda, and Andy as well. This is Andy's dog Arthur and we get along really well.
October 10, 2021
PLAYOFF BASEBALL
Panda and I took the Red Line to the game, bad idea. It was so crowded and sweaty, but we survived. Medalla is a beer that was only sold in Puerto Rico, but now it can also be bought in Wisconsin. I brought one for the tailgate!
Left to right: Papa Bear, Mama Bear, me, Panda. This was such an exciting baseball game, wish Timmy could have been there with us!
Did not mater where we sat in the stadium. The atmosphere was unforgettable. Best sporting event I've ever been to!!!
I love Panda so much!!
October 11, 2021
End of the Trip
My dad is learning guitar and he taught me a couple chords. It was nice to be able to spend time with him - I missed him a lot!
The USA does Halloween correct. There were so many decorations it was SPOOKY. We went plant shopping and look at the size of this pumpkin!!!
My last meal in the US was Italian Beef baptized with hot peppers. So dang good!!
Bye, Chicago! I'll be back soon...
October 12, 2021
Back to NBG
Made it back safely (loooong trip home) and went to check on my plants. Now, Timmy, Mama Bear, and I all have monsteras (pictured here).
October 17, 2021
Park Workout
Went for a small run and then did some jump training in the park. Luckily, the weather still allows stuff like this. I wanna jump HIGH!
October 22, 2021
Pumpkin Carving
We (Kara, Lena, Max, Tay, and I) carved pumpkins and watched Hocus Pocus! Here is Kara, Lena, and I with our finished products.
Max made a new frand!!
October 23, 2021
CSD in Erlangen (PRIDE)
Kara, Tay, and I walked in the CSD demonstration in Erlangen. CSD stands for Christopher Street Day - it is Europe's LGBTQ+ celebration named after the street the Stonewall Rios began on in New York in 1969. It was my first Pride, but definitely won't be my last!
October 24, 2021
Still Warm Enough
It is still warm enough to play some grass volleyball! I set up my net and played with Kara while Taylor read nearby. It was a nice day!
October 27, 2021
Pretty Fall Day
Fall can be so beautiful!!
October 31, 2021
HALLOWEEN!
The weather could not have been nicer! We played grass for about 3 hours. An amazing start to the day!
Kara and John hosted a Halloween party and everyone came dressed to impress! A fantastic group of people, of course it was a good time!
September 1, 2021
Pizza 1
Pizzeria da Massimo might be the best pizza joint in NBG.
We ate in the moat. Its a power move and I recommend you try it one day.
September 2, 2021
AHHH!
AHHH!
September 5, 2021
Pizza 2
Look at this pie! I love me a homemade pie
September 7, 2021
Missing PR
We made tostones and drank bacardi because we are missing Puerto Rico.
September 8, 2021
Pizza 3
Double whammy! Two pies, both delicious!!
September 11, 2021
Biers after the Game
Tobi S, Michi, and I went to see SV Schwaig play some Bundesliga 2 volleyball. They are a professional team and it is so good to see them play. It is also awesome that they pulled out a case of bier after their 3-0 sweep and drank as they tore down the court. Feels right.
September 17, 2021
Wine and Pizza 4
Tay and I went to Red Barrel and had some delicious wines. It is such a good way to finish off a long work week - a few glasses of red with great company!
We got pizza after wine. From Massimo. Its so so good!
September 18, 2021
Pizza 5
We had a volleyball tournament and it did not go well. I got home and went straight to my comfort food for a late dinner - PIZZA.
September 24, 2021
O'Shea's
We grabbed dinner and drinks at O'Shea's. This is a really pretty Irish restaurant in NBG!
September 26, 2021
Hiking with Ram and My3
We went hiking with Ram and My3! We started at the same spot that we have started our kayaking trips. But this time we were prepped for a more vertical journey! The Franconian Switzerland has some great hills to hike.
Here is the squad! Left to right: Ram, me, Tay, Maithreyi
I love this type of forest. It reminds me of Thatcher Woods back home, only MUCH bigger and not as flat!
Look how cool this area is. If you wanna hike, come visit us!
September 30, 2021
Golden Hour
This sunset was magical! There is something special about NBG.
August 1, 2021
Pizza Sunday!!
Another sunday, another pie! I like this tradition.
August 5, 2021
To the Office
I went into work today! The people at my work are very nice and patient with me! Got a lot done and built some good relationships.
August 13, 2021
Ol Dirty Evening
We watched the Field of Dreams game today and oh boy was it good. This was my going out outfit and Tay made me unbutton more buttons because it is an Eloy jersey..
I met the gals out at Ol' Dirty. The inside is not yet open, but the outside had all the vibes we needed for a good time!
August 14, 2021
Greek Food
Kara, Tay, and I grabbed some delicious Greek food at Platnersanlage after a day lounging at the river. We ordered WAY too much, but everything was delicious so I am not complaining!
August 18, 2021
Banana Bread Muffins
I made banana bread muffins and they tasted so good. My secret is that I use significantly more chocolate than I should! If you want my recipe, just ask!
August 20, 2021
Innere Laufer Gasse
This is a street pretty close to our apartment with a bunch of nice shops and restaurants. Its so cute!
August 21, 2021
Sunny and Pretty
Our balcony is FIERCE. These are my sunflowers, the rest of the credit goes to Tay Tay!
Here is the Pegnitz near the Hauptmarkt. Golly this city is pretty in the Summer!
August 22, 2021
The Wall
Here is the northeastern side of the wall. Its a nice biking and walking path that I like to take.
August 25, 2021
A sign
This sticker translates to "How much space would be here without cars?" We are getting into sustainability more and more and I really like the idea of a city not built around cars. I think certain places are designed for cars and that's a shame!
August 28, 2021
Noerdlingen
We went to Noerdlingen in Swabia (still in Bavaria). It is one of the only towns in Germany that still has a complete city wall. Such a neat place! We climbed to the top of the 92m tower (I'm afraid of heights!) and met the cat that lives up there. His name was Wendelstein but I called him Mr. Whiskers.
I made a pig friend! This little guy allegedly saved the city centuries ago by alerting a lady who was on a beer run that the gate was not properly locked. The lady scolded the guards (who had been bribed) and thwarted the attack that was planned for that evening.
We were not in Nuremberg but we found Nuernberg Strasse (Nuremberg Street)!
We walked to Maierbier and grabbed some drinks from the source! It was neat to see this brewers operation and talk with him a bit, but breweries in Germany are a bit different than the ones we know in Milwaukee!
Okay. Confession time. The real reason we visited this random small German village is because it is rumored that the setting of our favorite anime, Attack on Titan, is based on this village. We walked along the wall at night and found some graffiti of the name of my favorite character so I had to take a picture. Thanks to Tay for the picture and Miguel for the edit!!
August 29, 2021
Noerdlingen Day 2
We walked along the wall in the morning and saw so many pretty trees and views! This was my favorite picture I took from the wall. This little river flows thru the town and it is so cute!!
On the wall, there were a few stone windows that let us see outside. There was a mix of parks and private property outside the wall. And on the wall, there was even more graffiti from our show. I do not typically like graffiti, but I did appreciate the AoT references.
This cute river flowing thru town is even cuter from the ground level!
We walked to dinner out of town and found some cool rocks to climb on. It was really rainy, but we were so excited about dinner because...
We had dinner reservations at a Michelin star restaurant. The place was beautiful and the food was unbelievable. The restaurant was called Wirtshaus Meyers Keller and I will never have more delicious maultaschen.
We ended the night drinking a bier in the city center. It was a long and wonderful day!
July 2, 2021
Tower Beach
I played volleyball at "Tower Beach" with the Prost SV guys and we got Greek food after. We like to play until the sun goes down and have a beer and watch the sunset!
One of the biggest streets here was shut down by Italian fans celebrating their Euros quarterfinal victory. It was a sight to behold!
July 3, 2021
ZINNY
Zinny is in town for work and we got to spend the weekend with him!! We took a selfie in Sultan as a part of our drunk day in NBG. I missed him a lot and I was very thankful I got to spend time with him.
July 6, 2021
Profis in Action
It was really good day of beach volleyball. I love having a group that plays so often.
July 9, 2021
Eggs
This cast iron was a dope investment.
July 14, 2021
Night Castle
We went to Nate's with Flo and Alena and walked back! Love the people, love the place! This is the castle on the walk back!
July 16, 2021
Red Barrel then Italian
Pictured left to right: Ram, My3, me, Tay, Alena, Flo! We went and drank some yummy wines at Red Barrel (My3 tried to steal a dog) and then we walked towards the Hauptmarkt to a place called Cucina Italiana. I love the service at this place and their pizzas are almost unbeatable. It was great to hang out with such good folks before Tay goes on vacation to the US!
July 18, 2021
GRAND SLAM
Tay is back in the US but luckily for me, Max, Lena, and their imaginary friend John took me out for a classic brunch. There is an American diner named Chong's near us and oh boy does their Grand Slam DELIVER! I cannot believe I ate all this....
July 21, 2021
Brewing and Sustainability
My dad and I bottled remotely! He had a 1 gallon batch and I had my 5 gallon. It was incredible to spend time with him, even tho neither of us knew exactly what we were doing jaja
My brother Timmy and I are getting really into sustainability and environmental protection! I found a wonderful store near me that sells groceries without plastic packaging! Single-use plastics are the norm right now and that is HORRIBLE. If I can reduce my impact, I will sleep better at night for sure!
July 22, 2021
Beach Vball
Played some beach vball with the boys! I love summer!
July 24, 2021
The Chef
Ram and My3, knowing I'm still alone, invited me over for some home cooked Indian food! Ram cooked and oh my gosh it was yummy! Siddhesh was also there which means I was with 3 fantastic humans.
July 25, 2021
Pizza Sunday!
I got some fresh basil and made me a nice margherita pizza pie! So good!!
July 28, 2021
Guess who's Back!
If you look closely, you can see the rainbow in the sky! Tay is back and things are good in the world. The rainbow banner on the church says "Wo die Liebe ist, da ist Gott" which translates to "Where there is love, there is God". I love it!
After getting ice cream, we stopped at Mr. Kennedy's to grab some nice German craft beer. It is a very cool spot not far from our place!
June 1, 2021
BEACHEN
Its officially beach season. We can play volleyball again. A bunch of guys got together and we had a blast. My German skills need work (also my selfie skills)
June 4, 2021
Solarberg
Kara, Tay, and I biked to Solarberg to meet up with Flo and Alena. It is northwest of Fuerth and it was a longer bike ride than we anticipated, but we made it! Solarberg is a old landfill that was converted into a beautiful hill with solar panels on it. This is our view from the sunny top.
June 6, 2021
Walkin Around
Tay and I walked around NBG and I snapped a picture of our river. Pretty place!
June 8, 2021
RAIN
We got a lot of rain today and if we sit on the balcony we get sprayed a little which is lovely on a warm day!
June 9, 2021
Steinbach
I met Tay and Kara at Steinbach in Erlangen. This is one of our favorite breweries! Such a nice biergarten.
June 10, 2021
MORE RAIN
Our street is colorful and pretty, even in the rain!
June 17, 2021
Indoor Vball Too?!
I had indoor volleyball practice today for the first time in almost a year and WOW did it feel good. I took this picture of the moon outside my apartment on my way back.
June 18, 2021
Back to Beach
Switching between sand and indoor is very challenging sometimes. I had a lot of fun today, but my legs were wobbly.
June 21, 2021
Kara New Job!!!
Kara got a new job today and we are so very excited for her! We had to celebrate with bubbly!
June 23, 2021
John's Back!
John came back for a long weekend and Tay and I grabbed dinner with him. It is very strange having him living not down the street from us!
June 24, 2021
Tournament of Champions
Our trivia team was in the tournament of champions at Crazy Nates! We took 3rd place which is not bad, but we are gonna win it next time!
June 26, 2021
Iphofen
Tay and I took a day trip to see Vanessa and Juergen in Iphofen. We hiked throught the hilly vineyards and drank some tasty wine along the way. Definitely a trip I would recommend!
June 27, 2021
Kayaktour
Tay and I met up with Max and Lena for a lovely day on the Wiesent. The weather was almost as good as the company!
June 28, 2021
Wanderer
We went to Wanderer for the first time this year (in June!) and got a drink with Kara. It is cool to see the city slowly coming back to life.
May 2, 2021
Social Experiment
Some hooligans knocked this over and moved it to a semi crowded sidewalk. We watched from our balcony for hours how different people handled the obstacle in the way - some got mad, some moved it, some walked right on it! We put it back up eventually after our research was complete.
May 3, 2021
Blind Faith
I was listening to Clapton today so we kept the vibe going by listening to this vinyl after work. Love relaxing to a good album!
May 7, 2021
Long Hair
My hair is crazy long now. I love it.
May 9, 2021
Drinks on the Balcony
We have flowers and nice furniture for our balcony now and this is gonna be the vibe all summer. I am so excited we are FINALLY utilizing the space the way it should be utilitzed.
May 10, 2021
Sunset
Tay and I went to Hallerweise to spend some quality time outside. On our way back, the sky looked quite pretty! This city will never not be gorgeous to me.
May 11, 2021
Lockdown Vibes
May 19, 2021
Grass Net!
I bought a grass volleyball net and set it up for the first time today. I am so happy with it, I got to play with Michi and Krissi while Taylor read.
May 27, 2021
Mam Mam Burger!
It was a rainy day and we decided to order from Mam Mam. They have a really good veggie burger that I like to eat.
May 29, 2021
Game Night
Many lockdown rules are being lifted now and we were able to get dinner with Tobi and Alena! We ate crepes and lost bad in Catan. On our walk back, I snapped this pick of Tay on an old bridge.
May 31, 2021
John's Last Day
Today was John's last day before moving to Luxembourg for work. We got drinks at Altstadthof and we are definitely gonna miss him.
April 1, 2021
Great Weather Great Company
Tay and I went on a nice long walk and enjoyed the fabulous weather. This picture is us on the Pegnitz just East of town.
April 4, 2021
Easter!!
We made Easter bread! This is one of my favorite traditions and it tastes yummy too!
Instead of cooking a big meal, we ordered from Albrecht Duerer Stube. I had lamb schauefele with sauerkraut and kloB. Can't beat that!
April 6, 2021
Winter again...
It has snowed on a lot today, and some snow can be seen on the windshields of this car. I wish I could travel somewhere warm....
April 7, 2021
Birthday Snow
Happy Birthday Mom!!! Unfortunately its snowing in Nuremberg but what can ya do?!
April 12, 2021
Gym Time?!
Tay and I signed up for an appointment on our gym's terrace. While it was limited time, we had the whole space to ourselves and we were very happy to lift heavy things again!
April 17, 2021
Nates!
Tay and I went to Nates to have some margs and delicious west coast Mexican food. I don't know what we would do without this place. SUCH good vibes!
April 18, 2021
Swimming??
Its getting warmer, but no swimming yet. Tay and I walked to our swim spot and it really felt like Spring! Birds are a chirpin! Also, happy birthday Panda!!!!!
April 23, 2021
Seems out of Place...
There was a Hummer parked outside our apartment today it it looked soooo out of place in Nuremberg. The streets are smaller and designed for foot traffic, so this is a fish out of water.
April 24, 2021
DND With the Boys
I had a beer this afternoon while playing DND with my friends. Shouts out to Casey for being an incredible DM!!!
April 30, 2021
Plant Shopping
We went plant shopping and walked past the famous Burger King that used to be a Nazi power station. Neat story! Germany rocks.
March 3, 2021
Woehrder See
Another walk on a nice day!
March 5, 2021
Pad Thai!!
Tay made tofu pad thai tonight and it was so good!! It is gonna end up in our rotation - no doubt!
March 9, 2021
Truckers Hitch
I dug up a rope from my scouting days and learned to tie a new knot today! I miss camping/scouting
March 10, 2021
Wolf Shirt Wednesday
You already know what it is
March 11, 2021
Little Fauci Walk
I went on a little walk today past the castle!
March 12, 2021
Enough Computers?
I am doing some system admin training in Linux this week. I was doing some prep work here!
March 13, 2021
RUN
I went for a run today and I took a midrun picture once I reached the top of the worst incline! Gotta stay fit somehow..
March 20, 2021
Drink Market
We wanted to pick up some hard seltzer so we walked to the only store we know that has it. Tay found a walk in fridge and couldn't resist because she was sad we don't have as many of those here as the US.
March 24, 2021
Happy Bday Tay!!
I forgot to take a picture of Tay but its her bday and I love her! We celebrated with tacos and presents and life is good.
March 28, 2021
New Streets
Tay and I walked thru the Altstadt of Nuremberg and discovered things! There has been a lot of construction that was completed recently - new streets are always fun.
March 30, 2021
Early Summer?!
I had an interview at my company to discuss extending my hours (went well!) but the weather was absolutely fantastic. It was about an hour walk to my office and I soaked up the sun!
February 4, 2021
Early Spring?
It is February but the weather was really nice today. A lot of people were out on walks!
February 5, 2021
Woehrder See Again
Another walk around the lake. It is really neat to see how quickly the water will flow when it rains and the snow melts!
February 7, 2021
Empty Hauptmarkt
Tay and I went for a walk and it was weird how empty the Hauptmarkt is! We are trying to stay active and safe!
February 10, 2021
Lotta Snow
I have been walking a little less because it is quite chilly but there is snow everywhere!! This is the tree outside of our apartment just covered in snow!
February 11, 2021
Ubuntu Time
I am getting back into Linux and I just installed it on an old laptop. Very cool default background, loving it already!
February 17, 2021
Tummy Hurty
I wasn't feeling well so Tay took me to the hospital. The docs said to monitor the pain and come back if it gets worse, but I am feeling better already! This picture was taken by Tay on her way back and it has a floofy dog that we really like in it!
February 19, 2021
Tay on a Walk
Tay went on a nice walk and snapped a pretty sky picture.
February 21, 2021
Bike Gang
John, Kara, Tay, and I biked past Woehrder See and had a nice distanced picnic! I'm glad we got to spread our legs and enjoy the WONDERFUL weather.
February 24, 2021
FIVE GUYS
Michi, Tay, and I got FIVE GUYS today! it opened in Nuremberg this week and it really tastes fantastic. It was wonderful seeing Michi after so long, we missed him!!
LOOK AT THIS BURGER !!!
February 27, 2021
Around the Moat
Taylor and I went for a walk around the moat today. I took this picture as we crossed the Pegnitz on the West side of town.
January 1, 2021
New Year!
Tay and I enjoyed New Year's Eve together watching some of our favorite things. We watched some Star Wars, Harry Potter, Sabrina (Hot Teens!), and finally the Bulls. Guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr!
January 2, 2021
Walkin'
I went on a nice little walk around the Woehrder See (just east of the Altstadt). We have some good hiking near us, despite living in a big city!
January 3, 2021
Swimming??
Another walk, this time westward towards Fuerth. I went to our Summer swim spot but decided it was a little too cold to take a dip.
January 4, 2021
Woehrder See
I went to Woehrder See again because it is just so pretty. On a gloomy day, nature is still pretty neat.
January 5, 2021
My First Run of the Year
I wanted my friend to try Lemonheads so I ran to his apartment in Fuerth. This was silly for multiple reasons (long run, cold weather, out of shape, wore a mask) but it was a good challenge for myself! This is a picture of the Northwest wall surrounding Nuremberg that I took on my way back home.
January 6, 2021
Treat yo Self!
Tay and I want to treat ourselves more this month so we went to Starbucks and got a fancy coffee. While Tay was ordering, I hung out on the bridge and watched ducks !!
January 7, 2021
Nature
In Woehrd there are a lot of trees that beavers like to chew on. My cousin Kassie pointed this out to me and now every time I walk along the river in this area, I think of her.
January 9, 2021
Snowwww
Some snow is finally sticking! The best part of Winter is how pretty nature is covered in snow. This is the Woehrder Wiese after a light snow.
January 12, 2021
SNOWWWW
It snowed so much! This is the best snowfall we've seen in Nuremberg and I am very happy.
January 13, 2021
Snowy Walk
I went on a nice walk and it was so snowy. I saw a bunch of dogs and only almost fell over once so it was a great day.
January 14, 2021
Another Snowventure
Hikes are slippery but more fun in the snow. I was looking for beavers in this area but unfortunately did not see any today.
January 15, 2021
At Max and Lena's
Our friends Max and Lena also brew beer so I walked north to their apartment to drop some off. It ended up being a great trade-off because Max had a Kellerbier and a Helles ready to give to me. I can hardly wait until we can brew - he is a pro.
January 19, 2021
The City in the Winter
Tay and I went on a nice adventure to make sure we stretched our legs. On our way back, Tay snapped a great pic of St. Sebald Kirche!!
January 23, 2021
Rising Waters
I walked to our swim spot because I am missing summer vibes right about now. The water level was very high due to the precipitation and melting snow. Unfortunately, no dogs were playing in the water.
January 25, 2021
Snowy Trees
The views on some of my walks are breathtaking. Things are quite tough in the world, but I am often reminded how lucky I am.
January 26, 2021
Delicious Mexican Food - El Kaiser
We ordered food from a new restaurant in Nuremberg called Tacos El Kaiser. I got tacos, Tay got flautas, and we shared some jalepeno poppers! An overall wonderful experience that we will be doing again!
January 29, 2021
Look at this Water!
I like this bridge but the water is so high and moving fast!
January 30, 2021
Little Walks
Tay and I went for a walk near Gostenhof and Tay really wanted to go into the graveyard. We didn't see any ghosts or ghouls but that doesn't mean they weren't there.
December 1, 2020
SNOW DAY
It snowed today and it was wonderful! Here is a view of our apartment (on the left at the bottom of the hill) with SNOW!
December 5, 2020
Christmas Lights
Tay and I went to pick up candies, nuts, and fruits for St. Nikolaus Day (the 6th). We went to the grocery store in the Hauptmarkt, and despite the lack of a Christmas market, the lights are up and we can still feel Christmas magic!
December 9, 2020
Tree Time
Tay and I grabbed a tree and brought it home! Christmas is on its way!!
December 10, 2020
Gentofte Volley (CHANDLER IS PRO
Our friend Chandler is playing professional volleyball in Denmark and we watched the live stream of his game! They won 3-0 and Chandler got some nice kills. Very proud to know him!
December 11, 2020
Walking Home
We went to Crazy Nates for to-go burritos and the castle looked so pretty on our way back home. We walked thru the castle on our way back - sometimes I forget how cool Nuremberg is.
December 15, 2020
Finally Decorated
Our tree is now decorated! It is offically Christmas season. Next year, we need to do this wayyyy sooner, but better late than never!
December 17, 2020
Kaiserburg on a Walk
I went on a walk and took a picture of the castle down the street from us!
December 19, 2020
Hard Seltzer!!
Tay and I went on an adventure store to a beverage depot and finally found hard seltzers in Germany! They tasted very yummy and this will likely be a nice summer drink from time to time!
December 20, 2020
Pretty Walks
We need to stretch our legs during the lockdown so we went on a nice walk. Luckily, our city has some very scenic spots that never get old.
December 23, 2020
Art
Tay and I went to the grocery store and on our way back we saw a shovel next to an empty bottle of Gluehwein. There is a public ban on drinking during our hard lockdown but someone did a sneak!
December 24, 2020
Christmas Eve!!
John and Kara came by for Christmas Eve! We cooked seafood lasagna and Italian beef (per Carisocio tradition) and decorated cookies (per Larson tradition).
After watching Klaus at our place, we finished our evening playing a the Hogwarts Express, a drinking game invented by John and Kara. We are very fortunate to have such a wonderful family here in Germany!
December 25, 2020
Carioscio Eggnog
We missed our families a lot this year, but video calls helped dull the Heimweh (homesickness) a bit. My brother Timmy said a few years back that he had a secret recipe for eggnog: bourbon and ice cubes. I made due with Bulleit Rye this year :P
Luckily, we have our family in Germany to spend Christmas with! Kara made us a Christmas goose. I love these people!
November 5, 2020
Computer Time
I am looking to upgrade the wireless internet on my PC so I opened it up today and researched a number of options! Here is the PCIe port that into which I am gonna install a WLAN card.
November 7, 2020
Bike Ride with Tay
Tay and I biked to Burgfarrnbach (where I played some baseball this summer!) to shop at a grill shop with unique American groceries! We were overwhelmed by the sauce/hot sauce collection at this place!
This is what we ended up buying! A pretty impressive haul if I do say so myself !!
November 13, 2020
Pegnitz :)
I went for a nice (masked) walk and took this pretty photo of Nuremberg's river!
November 17, 2020
My Current Setup
I brought our balcony table in and set up a desk for myself in the guest bedroom. I am taking some coding classes and it is much easier with a proper setup!
November 18, 2020
Walking back with Groceries
Tay and I grabbed groceries at Rathenauplatz. The Christkindlmarkt is cancelled this year but the Christmas spirit cannot be cancelled!
November 19, 2020
Walking to Get Groceries
I went to pick up some food (yellow curry day!) and reflected on how pretty this city is. This was taken just down the street from our apartment.
November 14 2020
A Beer on The River
We met up with our quarantine buddies (John and Kara, of course) at a cute spot on the river and had a beer. We saw a lot of bats as nighttime quickly fell upon us.
November 20, 2020
Burritos on a Chilly Night
John, Kara, Tay, and I grabbed margs and burritos for a small game night. Here is Tay in front of the castle on our way home.
November 21, 2020
CASEY AND MARY WEDDING
Casey and Mary got married!! They had a small ceremony in Milwaukee that we were able to use zoom to watch. They are so happy together and that makes us happy too!!
November 27, 2020
December Hauptmarkt
Although our Christmas market is cancelled due to the pandemic, the main square still looks pretty.
October 3, 2020
Making a new Frand
I made a new frand :)
October 6, 2020
Spooky Season!
Manu (left), Michi (right), and I biked home from practice and the moon was extra spooky. We howled at the moon a lot on the bike ride!
October 9, 2020
WARNING SPOOKY
Tay and I have been decorating our apartment for Halloween!! It is pretty darn spooky, but tis the season!
October 10, 2020
Red Barrel Anniversary
Red Barrel hosted a wine tasting event to celebrate their 1 year anniversary! We drank and rated each wine. Taylor wants to start a wine critic blog called wenzelwines.com so stay tuned :P
October 14, 2020
omni animus omne tempus
Here is our first draft of the Carioscio family crest. Grapes because we love wine, rocket to symbolize our affinity for technology, a soup bowl because most of what we do is centered around food and cooking, and of course a volleyball.
October 16, 2020
GINOS
We drank wine at Red Barrel as we do most Friday nights. We then went to John and Kara's and ordered Greek food from a Greek/German/Italian/Hamburger restaurant called Gino's. We also ordered Ouzo for delivery and Michi organized a phot(ozu)oshoot.
October 19, 2020
Erding Trip
John, Kara, Tay, and I went to Erding for a short spa trip. While in Erding, we also toured the international brewery - Erdinger. It was a fantastic tour - they described the brewing process, answered all my questions, and gave us beer to try!
October 23, 2020
BBQ and Beers
John, Kara, Tay, and I cancelled our trip to Bayreuth because of increased Corona numbers which was sad especially because we found a BBQ and craft beer place there called Maisel and Friend's. Instead, we got Boogie's BBQ in NBG and bought beers at a craft beer store for a little staycation. John also made some bomb mac n cheese !!
October 25, 2020
Brewing with Coach!
For my birthday, Coach (Jack) got me ingredients for a "Dad Bod IPA". We called each other via hangouts and brewed together. Brewing is always more fun when you can do it with someone else and he is so incredibly knowledgeable!
October 30, 2020
Pumpking Carving!
Kara, Tay, and I carved pumpkins! It was our first time carving without those nice kits you can buy at the Jewels but we prevailed!!
September 4, 2020
Enjoying the Tail-End of Summer
Tay, John, and I went to our swimming spot on the Pegnitz. Water was a little chilly, but that didn't stop us from enjoying our time!
September 5, 2020
Dave and Kara's Bday Party
We got together at Pegnitzgrund for a fun birthday celebration for Dave and Kara. It was a lovely time with very good people (I love Peter waving to the camera)
September 6, 2020
Kara's Dirty 30
Kara, John, and Flo came over to celebrate Kara's actual bday. We baked a vanilla cake with cream cheese frosting and it was tasty!
September 12, 2020
Wine Tasting
Tay and I went to a wine tasting at our favorite wine shop - Red Barrel. The owners were friendly as always and the wine was delicious. I cannot recommend this place enough!
September 13, 2020
Pegnitzgrund
Tay and I took advantage of the nice weather to go swimming in the Pegnitz. We soaked up the rays, swam, and saw some very good doggos !
September 17, 2020
Freddi and Emi Wedding!!
Our teammate Freddi got married!! We showed up as a team during lunch to support Freddi and Emi. Flo Fritz and I went to the celebration afterwards as well and everyone was so friendly and happy for the new couple. Congrats!!!!
September 25, 2020
Wine with Friends
John, Kara, Michi, Tay, and I went to Red Barrel for some wine on a rainy day. Afterwards, we headed to a beer garden on the castle called Burgwaechter. It was a wonderful evening with some of my favorite people (expert photography by Michi)!
August 4, 2020
Rainbow :) !
Tay snapped a nice picture of a rainbow outside of our apartment. It has been raining a lot more recently and I LOVE it - summer rain is my favorite weather.
August 5, 2020
Candlemaking
I am Dr. Frankenstein so I salvaged some spent candles to make a new candle. Who is the real monster?
August 6, 2020
New Swim Spot?
Flo found a nice spot on the Pegnitz to relax and swim. It has been pretty hot recently so this spot has potential!
August 7, 2020
New Swim Spot!
This spot is officially wonderful. There are dogs, great swimming, and its beautiful. Tay, Flo, and I went today - here is Flo and I in the cool water :)
August 9, 2020
Back at it Again
We went back to our swim spot because the weather has been very hot! Here is Tay and Flo enjoying the day.
August 14, 2020
Red Barrel
Tay, Kara, and I went to Red Barrel for a few glasses of smushed grapes. The man there was incredibly passionate about wine and he was so nice and friendly. It was a very good place and we want to go back again !
August 20, 2020
First Meal on Vacation
We took a trip to Ruegen in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania! It is an island on the Baltic Sea. The train ride was over nine hours but it was well worth it when we got there. We enjoyed our first meal at a Bulgarian restaurant where we tried Bulgarian beer for the first time!
August 21, 2020
Beach Day
Our first full day we spent at the beach. We stayed in Sassnitz and traveled to Prora's beach. After reading, napping, and dog watching, we walked along the coast to Binz. A very relaxing day :)
August 22, 2020
Hiking in Jasumnd National Park
We spent our second day as adventurers, exploring the national park just North of Sassnitz. Here is a photo of Taylor and I at Koenigstuhl, the highest point of the island.
Along our hike, we took some detours and ended up on the beach at the bottom of the famous chalk cliffs. Some of the sights we saw were breathtaking.
The weather on the island was very inconsistent. It was very sunny for an hour and then Poseidon's winds would bring some rain to us for the next hour. On our hike back, we caught a little rain but it did not dampen our moods.
August 23, 2020
Exploring in Sassnitz
We started the day at the beach and then we enjoyed some seafood. Afterwards, we walked thru Sassnitz and went to a submarine museum. These U-boats are not designed for tall people but it was a very neat experience.
After the submarine museum, we continued exploring and found some ruins south of Sassnitz. There were a lot of various ruins and some very creepy bunkers that we were too scared to truly explore. It had a very eery vibe which was great for us.
Here is Tay and I at the Dwasieden ruins. This was a wonderful vacation !
August 30, 2020
Nice Italian Dinner
Tay and I went to Cucina Italiana for a delicious ravioli dinner. We enjoyed a nice bottle of red and then walked home in the rain :)
August 31, 2020
Cauli Pasta Night !!
This skillet was such a good investment. We made cauliflower pasta and ooo-wee was it tasty!
July 1, 2020
Picture Day
I biked to baseball and everyone was in their uniforms! It was picture day but we still had practice after. I played left field and took some bad routes to fly balls buuuut I made two nice sliding catches.
July 3, 2020
Burgstrasse on a Nice Day
I went shopping today and took a picture from the top of the hill looking down on the Hauptmarkt. We live in a very pretty city :)
July 4, 2020
Independence Day at the Lake
We went to Brombachsee and enjoyed very nice weather. We swam and played games. It was a fun day !
July 6, 2020
Art!! On Pizza Box again :P
Tay and I had a nice painting night and I painted a logo from Attack on Titan (one of my favorite animes). I highly recommend it but it is kinda gorey so be careful!
July 7, 2020
Der Club Relegation Game 1
FCN did not have a great season and now have to play in a relegation playoff to see if they belong in Bundesliga 2. I told my newly retired father and he wanted to watch too. He watched in River Forest and we watched in Nuremberg and Der Club won 2:0!! They need to play well on Saturday and they do not get relegated !
July 9, 2020
Beach Vball
We played some beach today. I only played one game because I hurt my leg but it was such a beautiful day :)
July 13, 2020
Lunch Date with my Mann
Michi took me to his hometown (Grossgeschaidt) and it is BEAUTIFUL. We picked up a table and then grabbed lunch in a neighbor village (Kaeswasser which means cheese water). There were baby goats and horses donkeys and pheasants and baby pheasants and it was incredible. Michi is the best boy and I'm happy I got to see his neighborhood and meet his Ma!
I set up the table with my computer and it looks so neat! It is not perfect but I am working on changing my way of thinking - it is OKAY to be proud of something that is not perfect.
July 15, 2020
To Fuerth with Flo
John, Kara, Taylor, and I went to Fuerth to visit Flo. We ate delicious sushi and watched "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood". It was a delightful evening but the only photo I took was a Doener place near Flo's apartment.
July 18, 2020
EBERMANNSTADT
John, Kara, Taylor, and I went Flo's childhood home in Ebermannstadt with Thomas and Dave. Flo's mom made us rouladen and then we embarked on an aquatic adventure. This is John and I posing on the steps outside Flo's parents place.
Here is the whole squad in kayaks. Kara and Tay shared a kayak, John and I shared a kayak, and the boys shared a triple canadian with Thomas on the bow. For the most part, we managed to stay in control of our boats...
Unfortunately, as soon as Flo's parents showed up to take pictures, the boys flipped and ended up in the river. This was an amazing day and we are very lucky to have such good friends in Germany :)
I love this group.
July 19, 2020
Burgruine Neideck
Flo, John, Kara, Taylor, and I hiked in the Frankische Schweiz to see some neat ruins. It was scary because we were so high up, but the view from the Burgruine Neideck was gorgeous.
July 22, 2020
Infield Practice
I biked out to Burgfarrnbach for practice! We did a lot of middle infield training which was fun because I never get to play short or 2nd :)
July 23, 2020
Steinbach mit Tay
I biked to Erlangen where Tay had training and we went to one of our favorite restaurants - Steinbach. We got a couple cheese plates and drank a few beers. Tay also got DELICIOUS sausages and to top it all off, we bought a 2 liter refillable bottle to take home. Such an enjoyable evening!
July 24, 2020
Baseball is Back!!
Baseball is back and I got to watch the MLB again. The pitcher on the mound is Jacob DeGrom and he's the man. (PLUS THE BLM ON THE MOUND I LOVE IT)
July 25, 2020
Crazy Nates :)
We got a table at Crazy Nate's and enjoyed food with Siddhesh, Ram, Maithreyi, John, and Kara. Afterwards, we went to our place and played Catan. An amazing and well-overdue evening with lovely people!
July 26, 2020
DEEP DISHHHHH
Taylor and I (mostly Tay) made deep dish for Flo, John, and Kara. We made 3 pies and they turned out very very yummy.
We still can't figure out how they get it so gooey in Chicago, but we are improving our recipe :)
July 31, 2020
Festival in the Hauptmarkt?!
Tay and I did some shopping and saw that there is a big festival set up in our main market. There are bumper cars, a rollercoaster, and even a Ferris Wheel! This seems bold due to Corona, but Tay thinks that industry must be hurting and as long as they are taking precautions and the numbers stay low, we are optimistic.
June 2, 2020
Beach Volleyball !!
We are allowed to play beach (with special rules) now! Unfortunately, I caught my ankle on the fence and rolled it pretty badly so my session was cut short. I have rolled my ankle seriously an average of once per year since college :P
June 6, 2020
Braiding Hair
While I am nursing my injury, Tay braided my hair. She said it an okay length but I gotta keep growing it if I want it really braided. Keep eating those Flintstones vitamins, kids!
June 10, 2020
Adventures!
I went on a walk to buy a cast iron skillet! I found one but I also saw that the river is very low. We need Poseidon to bring a nice rain to us (it has been rainy recently, but I want more!).
My brother Timmy was texting me (not an hour earlier!) that we should get a dalmation and look! I found one. He/she was mischievous but that makes him/her an extra good boy (boy is non-gendered here). Fun question for you, the reader - do you think you have seen more than 101 dalmations in real life in your entire lifetime?
June 12, 2020
Black Lives Matter
We went to Wanderer (our favorite place to grab a beer) the entire day because Taylor had a bridge day. Thursday was a holiday and many people will take the Friday off to extend the weekend. We had a dog named Abbi come hang out with us and she was very sweet and we loved her (she just wanted shade).
Afterwards, we stopped by John and Kara's and their neighbor had the best signs on his door. There are a lot of protests because of the murder of George Floyd and inequality in the US and we wholeheartedly support it. It makes me happy there are people in Germany that feel the same.
June 13, 2020
DEEP DISHHHHH!
Our first meal with the cast iron skillet was deep dish pizza!! We also made a pie in a baking tin and they were ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!! This is our first time making this and it definitely won't be the last!
June 17, 2020
Dinner with Siddhesh :)
We went to an outdoor biergarten called Steiner's. Taylor and I had delicious baked potatoes and Siddhesh got yummy gorgonzola pasta. A great time was had by all even though it rained a lot and we got wet :P
June 18, 2020
Picking up my Bike
I walked to our beach fields to pick up my bike. This was my first real exercise since hurting my ankle and it went well. I also had a wonderful conversation with my brother on my walk so overall FANTASTIC day !
June 19, 2020
Riding to Practice
I biked to baseball practice and passed a church that we had been to before for a Siemens orchestra concert. My bike seat kinda broke around here but I had tools and managed to fix it and get to practice on time. It was a very tiring evening because I had to bike about 16 km to practice, then play for a few hours, and finally 16 km back home. I'm very rusty at baseball but the guys are very friendly and I has a blast!!
June 20, 2020
Park Day!!
We went to the park to hang out with friends! Kathi and Christian learned to play Kan Jam with Tay and John. We listened to music and had an overall wonderful time.
John wanted to climb in the fountain but we settled with just posing next to it :)
This is our friend Flo and we love him so much and he is very photogenic !!
June 24, 2020
Beisbol!
I went to another baseball practice and took a picture from the dugout. It was a beautiful day and we did a lot of infield practice.
June 25, 2020
Switching Sports
We played "grass" volleyball! We picked the spot on the field with the least amount of grass for some reason but it was still a great time :)
June 26, 2020
Secret Mission
I have been repairing my bike and wanted to go on a trip. I biked to a nearby town where my teammate Tobi lives. I brought a 6 pack of pilsner (gross) and dropped it off secretly on his doorstep, but he figured out the mystery quickly.
June 27, 2020
Park Day!
We went to the park and enjoyed the company of others outdoors. We played Kan Jam and Spike Ball and chatted much with great frands.
June 28, 2020
Cast Iron Mac & Cheese
We made DELCIOUS mac & cheese in the cast iron skillet today. It was very gooey (I prefer gooey mac & cheese to creamy).
May 1, 2020
Brewing and Balcony
We enjoyed some cloudy weather and light rain on the balcony. Unfortunately, it did not rain much - we miss the rain!
We also bottled our 312 clone today! It did not taste great (we tried a small sample before carbonation) but we are optimistic nonetheless :)
May 4, 2020
RAIN
It rained hard for a couple hours and there was thunder and lightning. We sat on the balcony and enjoyed the perfect weather. The sky was not very dark but the rain still came down.
May 6, 2020
Buyin Plants
We went to the Hauptmarkt masked up and looked at some plants. We ended up purchasing a lantana with pretty yellow flowers. The plan is to put it on the balcony to add some more flavor to our lives.
May 9, 2020
Relaxing Restrictions
We have begun relaxing some restrictions in Bavaria and we are now allowed to meet in small groups if we are safe about it. Krissi and Michi, THE BEST PEOPLE, invited us over for homemade spinach-kaesespaetzle. Not only did they provide delicious food for us, but they also taught us how to cook it ourselves. Here is me making the noodles (Krissi did 99% of the work, I just posed for the photoshoot). We love them so much !
May 10, 2020
Catan on the Balcony
John and Kara came over and we played Catan on our balcony. We ordered Namaste and had a wonderful time with friends and nice weather. Also, very important, I won for the first time against them in about a year so BIG DAY FOR ME. This is a picture of a polaroid (v meta) I took of these three incredible people :)
May 13, 2020
Happy Birthday, Pops!
I went to Rewe today to do some shopping for dinner and I saw a very big, drooly, and friendly doggo outside. Also, its my Dad's birthday so HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
May 15, 2020
Catan with John and Kara
We ordered Crazy Nates (margs too of course) and then we played Catan with John and Kara. We are allowed to meet with members from one other household and we are taking advantage of it!
May 16, 2020
So Pretty
We went to the park today and on our way back we were reminded how beautiful Nuremberg is. This is a bridge over the Pegnitz.
May 18, 2020
Biergartens are Open
Biergartens are open with social distancing guidelines in place so we took advantage of it :) Tay and I got a couple drinks at Steiner's - a great place just south of our apartment!
May 21, 2020
Vaterstag Bike Ride
Michi, Chris, Jan, and I went on a bike ride for Father's Day. As a German tradition, Fathers (or anyone with potential to be a father) get together with the boys and enjoy some beers. We went on a bike ride and stopped for socially distanced drinks periodically. We biked to Hersbruck (about 35 km) and I took the train home while the others biked back.
May 27, 2020
LasagnaTag
I make a MEAN lasagna. John and Kara came over and we ate good!
April 1, 2020
Paint Night
Taylor and I spent the night painting and watching Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace. Taylor painted abstract and I painted Captain Panaka :)
April 3, 2020
Completed Puzzle!!
Taylor finished her wolf puzzle!! She did it !!!
April 9, 2020
Mikes's on the Balcony
We ordered food to support local business! We ordered from a place called Mike's (their sign spells the name Mikes's) that claims to be a Mexican and Italian restaurant with American food. They had all sorts of options but we should have heeded the warnings of the reviews because my veggie tacos were basically bean chili and Taylor's gyro pizza was just okay. Additionally, we wanted sides of chips/guac and mozzerella sticks and we got onion rings and spring rolls! A very unique experience :)
April 10, 2020
Cricket with Coach!
Coach (Jack/John) had Good Friday off so he called us and we watched a rerun of a cricket match from January 2018. It was a T20 match from the KFC Big Bash League - Melbourne Renegades v Sydney Sixers. The Renegades won easy and Coach and I are still learning and loving cricket :)
April 11, 2020
Such Nice Weather!
Taylor and I had a few beers on our balcony because the weather was perfect. I was wearing a hoodie because it just showed up in the mail as a gift from Dan and I LOVE it :)
April 12, 2020
Easter Sunday!
Taylor and I baked Italian Easter Bread and listened to Jesus Christ Superstar on vinyl. It was our best effort to make things normal because we really miss our friends and family. Despite Tay's warning from Paul Hollywood, I put too much egg glaze on the top of the bread and made the outside a little more crispy than I would have liked but you live and you learn!
April 13, 2020
My Mom is Famous!!
My mom runs the Harmony Community Church Food Pantry in North Lawndale in Chicago. I was already incredibly proud of her for the work she is doing but recently she was featured in the New York Times and now she and Pastor Brooks (my 7/8th grade basketball coach and youth minister) were on the local Chicago news! They do amazing things in a community that needs it. If you wanna help out, check out their website !
April 17, 2020
Sunrise
The sun was rising in Nuremberg :) I stayed up a little too late playing some games with friends!
April 19, 2020
D&D Spells
I play a game called Dungeons and Dragons with my friends back in the states. We just leveled up and I got to pick new spells. I role play as a young German cleric named Augustus Gloop. I am especially excited about the spell "Meld into Stone" which does exactly what it sounds like :P
April 20, 2020
Namaste Delivery Car
Taylor and I went shopping and on our way back we saw that Namaste has their own special delivery car. We are trying our best to keep them in business because we love their food.
April 24, 2020
Social Distancing
Taylor, Kara, John, and I met up for a social distanced dinner at Crazy Nates. They had a margarita special and we did a very good job at staying 1.5 meters apart until I was a dummy and asked them to pose for a picture on our walk back. For all the police officers looking at this page, this picture was actually taken April 24, 2019 and I Photoshopped the limited edition mugs in and I'm sorry - we are really trying to stay socially distanced but it is tough sometimes.
April 26, 2020
Pokemon Go!
Taylor and I went for a walk and I tried to use Pokemon Go for the first time but my phone wouldn't really run it properly. But the walk was nice! Tay is trying to recover from an injured knee and cobblestones are sometimes tough. There are very weird times because it was a gorgeous day and not many people were out in a normally busy area.
April 30, 2020
Burritos and Margs
Taylor and I walked to Crazy Nates and picked up a couple burritos. We also got our limited edition margarita mugs refilled for the special price because we are regulars :)
March 1, 2020
Post-Namaste
Our friend Dan Redd is in India and he sent us a picture of his empty plate after a delicious meal so we returned the favor. Namaste is so delicious and they recognize us when we go which is a good feeling.
March 4, 2020
Lennie Kravitz Hockey Mannschaft
John plays hockey and he is so good. I went to his game alone and tied on a nice drunk watching his undermanned team lose admireably to a very stacked opponent.
March 6, 2020
Post Practice Drinks with Michi :D
Michi and I got Sultan and drinks after practice. We went to a neat bar called Pilsbar Millionaer.
March 9, 2020
Showing off NUE to Dan, Emily, Geoff, and Emily
I was giving my Nuremberg tour in front of Bratwursthaeusle and St. Sebald Kirche and they snapped a pic :)
We went to Di Simo and had some wine on the famous wine bridge. We had been walking around all day and it was very nice to sit around and enjoy each others company. Pictured near to far is Geoff, Emily H., Dan, Smacko.
Dan is a funny boy and I missed him. I really like this pic of us :)
Here is the other side of the bridge :) I think they were looking at a dog that was passing by! Left to right: Geoff, Emily H, Emily B, Tay
March 10 (11), 2020
Steinbach Brewery/Il Rossini
We went to one of our favorite Bavarian breweries with the group for dinner. This was taken in the basement of Steinbach Brewery in Erlangen. The beer they make is delicious but the real reason we go here is for the kaesespaetzle. It is one of the most delicious meals you can eat - basically German mac & cheese. Four out of six of us ordered it and the others had phenomenal meat dishes. They all tried the beer but the drink of choice for the trip was a classy Italian drink called Aperol spritz. Well that was the drink of choice if you don't count German beer, Guiness, weissweinschorle (white wine with bubbly water), or weissweinFanta (white wine with Fanta). Left to right: Tay, Emily B, Emily H. CORRECTION: This picture was taken at Il Rossini on the 11th. It is a lovely Italian restaurant in the Altstadt! We did go to Steinbach on the 10th :)
March 24, 2020
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAY
It is Taylor's bday today and there is so much to celebrate!! We enjoyed Mam Mam for lunch (great burgers!) and I made her lasagna for dinner. Nothing like relaxing at the end of a long day with wine and Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Love you Tay!!!!!!
March 31, 2020
Puzzlin'
We are safe and sound during this quarantine :) Tay has a 1000 piece puzzle and I just got a new PC so we are keeping ourselves safe and occupied!
February 2, 2020
Vienna!!
Taylor and I went to Vienna to see our friend Ola! Vienna is a gorgeous, windy city with a lot of old buildings and human gargoyles (statues). Here is a picture of the Hofburg Palace.
February 4, 2020
Belvedere Palace
After a lot of exploring of the city, we went to the Beleveder palace and saw some incredible art. The main attraction of the museum was Gustav Klimt's "The Kiss" and it was meh. Other than that, the art was really cool.
February 6, 2020
Nuremberg Castle
I was walking a different way home from practice and I saw the castle lit up in the background :) Unfortunately, my legs were very tired and that castle at the top of the hill is down the street from our apartment.
February 23, 2020
Faschings
Germany's Fat Tuesday/Mardi Gras celebration is called Faschings. A lot of people dress up go to a parade. The parade was on Sunday and we dressed up. John was Gandalf, I was a 90s workout guy, and Kara and Tay (seen here) were Jareth from Labyrinth and a witch!
It was windy and this picture turned out incredible. Bowie's Jareth with Tolkien's Gandalf.
February 25, 2020
Unsere Eule (our owl)
Kara went to India for work the previous week and brought Tay and I back presents! Taylor got an elephant and I got an owl because I love owls :)
February 27, 2020
IT SNOWS IN THIS COUNTRY!!!
It snows in the country I am so happy. This was great packing snow and it was so pretty and I was very happy until it all melted the next day.
Our street is so pretty with snow it should snow every day.
February 29, 2020
LeapDay Football
Kara joined a football team and we went to her game! She scored a screamer from outside the box with her left foot and it was super impressive. We thought they won 2-0 because we showed up 10 minutes late and saw them score twice. The coach was born in the US and when we congratulated him on the win he told us they tied and we were embarassed. But oh my gosh so proud of Kara!
January 2, 2020
Mexican Dinner with Folks!
Before heading home, my folks took me out to a Mexican dinner and the food was fantastic!! We had queso fundido that was out of this world and an appetizer plater. I love my folks :)
January 3, 2020
First Things First
You better believe we went to Sultan as soon as we got to Nuremberg :)
January 5, 2020
Fuenf Seidla Steig
Every year, my volleyball team goes on a drinking/hiking trip along a brewery trail near Forchheim. Michi and I were quite hungover for this trip we be hiked and had a blast.
PLus we saw a very good dalmation!
January 11, 2020
Cookin' and Drinkin'
I am trying to become a vegetarian and I figured I should learn to cook tofu. I made a yellow curry with tofu and it turned out very yummy!
We went to McDonald's before a board game night at John and Kara's. Nuremberg permits people to walk around with alcoholic beverages but we are not sure on McDonald's policy.. Anyways here is Tay with a cup of wine ordering at McDonald's XDDDD
January 13, 2020
I found a dog!
I found a dog sitting outside of our Norma (grocery store) and it was cute.
January 15, 2020
I found a dog! (again)
I found a dog sitting outside of our Rewe (another grocery store) and it was cute.
January 16, 2020
I found a dog! (again again)
I wanted to walk to Obi (our Home Depot) and it was gorgeous outside. Along the way I took a picture of a very big dog that I liked and I tried to be sneaky but I think the lady noticed but oh well :P
January 17, 2020
Pretty Pegnitz
I was walking in the titlestadt and took this pretty picture on the east side of town. Nuremberg is so pretty!
January 25, 2020
Postmatch Dinner
We played a match and went out to dinenr as a team afterwards. While we were waiting for our table, some of us played Flunkyball in the parking lot. As we always do at Greek restaurants, this picture is us drinking Ouzo. Right to left is Tobi K., Smacko (can't believe we are drinking more ouzo), Flo, and Tobi S.
We made friends of course and drank ouzo with them as well. The man was originally upset with me for hitting on his wife but I'm pretty sure he was just teasing. Overall, a wonderful ouzo filled evening. I love this team.
December 1, 2019
Grading Papers
My friend Flo asked for help on his Master's thesis so I helped him grade a while Kara and Tay watched TV :) I am drinking a bottle of chianti from Italy that costs less than 3 euros and its very yummy.
December 3, 2019
Racing after Practice
We often drink after practice (Nur die Prost SV!) and Flo (right) and Nico (left) always race on small green tricycles intended for two small children each.
December 7, 2019
Dubliner on a Saturday
After a long day of volleyball, Michi and I met up with John, Kara, Taylor, and two of John and Kara's friends (Megan and Kate) from out of town. This was an incredible evening of dancing and drinking and eventually karaoke. Michi (right and with my pullover on his head) and Kate (left) are pictured here
December 9, 2019
Frauenkirche on a Monday Night
The Frauenkirche is my favorite artsy place to photograph. We were at the Christmas market and I needed a picture with the moon (waxing gibbous).
December 13, 2019
Friday the 13th!
The Christmas market often have choir performances on the main stage. It is incredible to walk through a Christmas market with a choir singing German Christmas hymns in the background.
December 14, 2019
Meteora
After a match day of volleyball, we went out with the team to our favorite restaurant - Meteora. Not only do they not care if we win or lose, they always have a place for us. Plus they don't mind if we are loud and drink all then ouzo. In this picture, Michi put on his beanie and it looked like a beret so he and Tobi started speaking French. These two are our emotional leaders and call them Owls for some reason and I love them.
December 15, 2019
Frands!!
Michi and Krissi joined Tay and I in welcoming Ola and Dan in Nuremberg! We went to Sangam and ate delcious Indian cusine. Dan was just getting to NUE to visit and Ola was on her way out for work! Ola is a professional ice skater doing the famous Holiday On Ice show that we saw and LOVED. The picture here is Michi being French again because of course.
December 16, 2019
Gludwein with Dan
Dan Redd and I went to the market to look around and drink Gludwein. We found a nice area where we could sit and drink on a balcony. It made for a lovely view and afternoon :)
December 19, 2019
Happy Dan and Christmas Party
Dan and I grabbed lunch at the Christmas market and he looked so happy with his half meter wurst.
We had our volleyball Christmas party and Dan really bonded with the team. We played volleyball, ping pong, football (soccer), floor hockey, and finally a Post SV special - FLUNKYBALL. In this gif, Dan is throwing with Tobi and Nico and Chris are paired on the other team. If one team hits the bottle with the ball, that team drinks until the other team retrieves the ball and sets the bottle upright in the middle. The winning team is the first team to finish their beers.
Nico (left) and Chris (right) playing flunkyball. I love this pic
December 20, 2019
Wurst Durst in Frankfurt
The three of us traveled to Frankfurt to explore a bit. We went to a fast food currywurst restaurant and it was delicious and crazy spicy. After this, we found the Christmas market in the old town of Frankfurt and had gluhwein there.
We walked around Frankfurt all day and wanted to see the nightlife as well. We found an older part of town called Sachsenhausen to eat dinner and grab a few drinks. We went to a place called StruvvelPeter for dinner and tried Frankfurt's famous schnitzel with green sause (not yummy). Afterwards, we found a number of bars with very cheap drinks. This flight of mixed shots cost us 21 Euros!
December 21, 2019
Chidoba and Hockey
Taylor and I have been craving Qdoba and Chipotle for a while. We were very surprised to find a similar style restaurant called Chidoba in Frankfurt. The food was very delicious :)
We went to Bethmann Park to explore the city more and it was a beautiful area with bridges, ponds, and traditional Chinese architecture. There were a lot of weird birds we saw as well. It was a good adventure.
At the end of the day, we went to the Frankfurt Lions hockey game. The atmosphere was fantastic. Even the away section was loud a rowdy. I'm pretty sure Dan had a good time and I definitely love sports in Germany!
December 26, 2019
Home for the Holidays
Taylor and I went home for the holidays to spend quality time with our parents. The day after Christmas I spent relaxing with my ma and pop. My dad and I made a fire and drank some fancy brown and everything was right with the world.
December 28, 2019
MUBB!!!
We went up to Milwaukee to watch our old university's basketball team play and it was such a fun time. We got to see our die hard season ticket holding friends Kelly, Geoff and Emily, and Dan and Emily!! It was a blowout but its always nice to see a win ! GO MUBB!!!
November 1, 2019
Five Guys
My friends Dan and Andy live right by a Five Guys. This song always makes me think of Michi so I took a pic and sent it to him :)
November 4, 2019
Tacos with Coley
I met Dan Coley at a Mexican place downtown (he happened to be in Chicago at the same time. We ate delicious food then walked to Navy Pier to get Boat Drinks.
November 5, 2019
Italian Beef!!!
Mama Bear and I stopped for italian beef. This has been a big time craving for me. I got it baptised with hot peppers LOVE
November 6, 2019
That's My Rug!
When we packed to move to Germany, Tay specifically said that I should inform the movers to pack the rug. I forgot and now it lives with my brother Tom (Panda). I love Panda and we got to hang out so overall I'm still happy.
November 7, 2019
Chicago !
I was heading back from Panda's apartment and stopped to take a picture because Chicago has some dang big buildings! Very pretty, very cold :P
November 8, 2019
Jack and Liz and Gus
I went to Milwaukee to hang out with Jack and Liz for the evening. They brought Gus into the bar and he was so popular. I got to be in charge of him. I love this whole family they are such good people!
November 9, 2019
Mike and Alyssa's Wedding!!
Mike and Alyssa got married and it was an incredible INCREDIBLE wedding. Unfortunately, I forgot to snap a picture of them but they're fantastic and I'm so happy for them. This picture is Finn. Dan and Emily Brennan (LOVE!!!) let me stay with them and of course I remembered to take a pic of Finn :P
November 13, 2019
Sultan Upon Arrival
As soon as I got back to Nuremberg, I got our favorite food - Doener from Sultan. I was craving it!
November 16, 2019
Wine from Abruzzo
I met John, Kara, and Tay out for wine and they had a bottle from Abruzzo (where my Grandma C grew up!). We drank it and it was lovely even tho it was a white wine and my folks said typically red comes from Abruzzo!
November 19, 2019
Christmas is Coming
They put a tree and lights in front of the Frauenkirche in the Hauptmarkt. It looks so good and the whole town is getting ready for the Christkindlmarkt.
November 20, 2019
Tacos with Lucas's Hot Sauce
Our friend Lucas made his own hot sauce and it is both flavorful and delicious. We made some tacos and it was instantly better with the sauce!
November 21, 2019
View from Lorenzkirche
One of the department stores in town is already decked out with Christmas lights! This nighttime market area is right outside of the Lorenzkirche.
November 23, 2019
Building of the Market
They built a small area to the East of the Hauptmarkt for the Christmas market. Christmas is in the air, it's only a matter of time before we start celebrating.
November 25, 2019
Kassie in Town!!!!!!
Kassie visited for almost a week in Nuremberg. On one of those days, we went to Streitau in Overfranken where we think we have relatives. Everything was closed because it was a winter Monday in a tiny tiny village but it was a lot of fun exploring with Kassie!
My mom (Kassie's aunt) wanted us to look in the church for records of our family. Unfortunately, the church was closed as well. We found a graveyard with (potentially) our great great grandmother's family's tombs in it.
We explored more and drove to a neighboring town that was much bigger (about a 5 min drive away). We found the football pitch for 1. F. C. Gefrees.
After a while of searching for an open restaurant on a Monday, we found some great food and even better hiking in Bad Berneck. Adventuring with Kassie is incredible - I cannot recommend it enough
November 28, 2019
Almost Open :)
It was the even of the opening of the Christmas market. The lights were on, stalls were built, and the seemingly quiet streets of Nuremberg were busy again with people excited for CHRISTMAS.
November 29, 2019
The Opening Ceremony
The stalls of the Christkindlmarkt were completely crowded. Not a good time to be claustrophobic but the opening ceremony was still great to see. They turned off every light in a Hauptmarkt and the Christkind gave a speech in German. Very neat event !!
November 30, 2019
Thanksgiving
We hosted a Thanksgiving potluck in our apartment and I snapped a picture in the middle of Kara telling a story :P It was an amazing time with friends. On top of that, we drank Wild Turkey which was my grandpa's favorite non-wine drink and a tradition my family has had for holidays so that made me double happy.
October 5, 2019
Mexican Food!!!
Tay and I found a west coast Mexican restaurant in Nuremberg! It is called Crazy Nate's and it has fantastic burritos. They also have good US style beer but Tay decided on a bloody mary instead :)
October 6, 2019
Croatia :)
We went to Croatia for a fun vacation. This is our first night there and we tried Maraskino, a marashino cheey liqueur made special in Zadar. It was quite strong so we chased with authentic Croatian beer as well. It was a little chilly but we sat outside anyways. Most of the restaurants had outdoor seating as well as blankets and heat lamps for the guests.
October 7, 2019
Exploring Zadar
We toured Zadar and walked around the town a lot. Croatia has a lot of islands and you can look across the water and see both beautiful landscape and other much smaller towns. It is an old and gorgeous city, rich with history (a lot of countries wanted to control it because it is central on the coast of the Adriatic Sea).
After a long day of exploring, we sat down at a cafe and enjoyed the sunlight. We drank beer and read books.
October 8, 2019
BOAT TIME
We went on a boat tour of the islands around Zadar. There was adventuring and hiking and such fun to be had. We hiked through an island and found some beautiful cliffs.
We were not the only ones exploring that day so many other boats could be seen navigating the islands. These types of sights were common this day - amazing stuff :)
Our last stop on the tour was a small island town that we explored. It was mostly closed for the day but we found a restaurant with patio seating where we could enjoy a beer. A bunch of yachts came in and out of the port with traveling Europeans. We learned that it is a common vacation to rent a yacht and travel to Croatia, Greece, and Italy this time of year - maybe 2020 for us :)
She is so pretty! The boat ride back was full of loud music and singing and dancing. Our driver also went wayyyy too fast for Tay's comfort but I was enjoying myself :P
October 10, 2019
Leaving Zadar
All vacations must end at some point :( We got to the airport extra early to find out our plane was delayed. This airport only had one gate and as we sat there for 4.5 hours, we saw three total planes - including ours.
Europe is so cool. Its very empowering to walk on the runway.
October 11, 2019
Decorating a Bit
I have been installing lights slowly but surely and decorating for Halloween!
October 14, 2019
Meeting Tay
I went to meet Tay on her way back from work. This is just north of the Hauptmarkt.
October 19, 2019
Training Camp
My volleyball team had a training camp in Schnaittenbach. We had four practices in one day which was very tiring but amazing teambuilding. Outside the middle school, there were cows!!!
October 24, 2019
Beer and Pokemon
I flew back to the states for a pair of weddings. On my way, I enjoyed beer and plane movies (Dective Pikachu!!)
October 25, 2019
The Jewels
I walked to the Jewels in River Forest and oh my gosh you can buy everything there. I missed US grocery stores :P
October 26, 2019
Dylan and Stef Wedding!!
Dylan and Stef got married in Oshkosh, Wisconsin at the Aviation Museum. The wedding was so wonderful and I am so happy for these too ! This is a photo of their first dance :)
October 29, 2019
Chicago Stuff
Mama Bear helps operate Harmony Food Pantry in Chicago. They give out food to those in need every Wednesday. I went with her to set up for the following day and this was our drive back on Lake Street.
I was missing my pops so I went and bought pumpkins. We carved them and had a fun time doing so ! He made the alien while I made the friendly ghost (which Kara described as a waving oven mitt jajajja)
September 2, 2019
Building!
We just about have all the furniture we need to make our apartment presentable but part of the issue is building that furniture! I built this closet today and it took me much longer than I would have liked but it is always satisfying to complete a project!
September 4, 2019
FIBA
John and I got into the FIBA World Cup and of course I was pulling for PR!
September 5, 2019
LADIES NIGHT
It was Ladies Night at Volksfest. Kara and Tay went earlier in the year and told me ladies and those dressed as ladies got good discounts so you know what it is :)
I scare too easily so Kara and Tay went on all the fun rides while I took pictures.
Okay fine. Kara and I went on a spooky ride and it was very spooky :/
Kara stole my hat and looked fierce wearing it.
The highlight of ladies night is the male strip show at the end of the night :P Captain Jack Sparrow was my favorite :D
Our frand Kathi joined us and was classy as always!
THE GALS! The actual ladies needed a picture at the end of the night. We closed down the Volksfest on a Thursday night :)
September 7, 2019
Kara Bday :)
Kara's bday was the 6th and we decided to celebrate on the 7th! I baked a HP cake and it was yummy. HAPPY BDAY KARA!!!
September 8, 2019
BCD Finally
Tay made her world famous buffalo chicken dip and it was so delcious. The ingredients are a bit different in Germany but it is still delicious.
September 9, 2019
New Sultan
Our favorite restaurant/drunk food in Nuremberg just opened a new location a 5 minute walk from our apartment. This is great news for our hearts but terrible news for our diets :)
September 10, 2019
NUE Rooftops
Nuremberg is a very pretty city ! This was taken from the library when I was adventuring with John!
September 11, 2019
Bike Gal
Tay got a new bike and is worried she forgot how to ride! Unfortunately for her, Nuremberg is mostly cobblestone and hills so its not easy to ride!
September 12, 2019
Drinking after practice
Pictured here left to right is Roman, Beer, Michi, Flo, and Chris. We practice hard then reward ourselves with beer :)
September 14, 2019
OWL BEER
We went out drinking with some friends and I got a beer. The glass had an owl (die Eule) on it and my vball team loves owls for some reason so I had to snap a pic.
September 17, 2019
New Dining Room
Our dining room is setup! New table and chairs look so classy.
September 20, 2019
Quick Cool
We bought a case of Franzikaner Hefeweizen but wanted to drink them right away so we wrapped them in wet paper towels and put them in our freezer for a little bit. I think the beers cool faster this way because the wet paper towels cool via convection faster than a glass bottle. The cooled/frozed paper towels cool the glass via conduction (more efficient) and then the beer is cooled via conduction with the glass. I hope this is how that works, I haven't taken thermodynamics recently...
September 21, 2019
Der Club mit Michi
Tay likes cows and we found one at a random beer garden.
We met Michi at the beer garden and then went to the FCN (Football Club Nuremberg) game. The team is called either FCN or Der Club.
We had awesome seats and a bunch of old Germans kept getting upset and shouting because Der Club is not that great of a team this year :P
September 22, 2019
Muenchen Marienplatz
We went to Munich for Oktoberfest. We met some friends at the Marienplatz and watched the Rathaus Glockenspiel (all 15 minutes).
September 23, 2019
Eis-Bar! (Polar Bear)
As soon as we got to Oktoberfest, there was an ice cream stand called Eis-Bar. I was very excited about this because my mom and my favorite ice cream stand in the US was called the polar bear. It was a rainy day but we had a lot of fun at Oktoberfest.
There was a very rowdy table next to us so of course we made friends with them. This lady pictured with Tay was especially funny and crazy :)
August 1, 2019
SchloB Nymphenburg
We went to Munich and visited King Ludwig II's other residence, SchloB Nymphenburg. It was very different but still gorgeous. This is a picture of one of the many statues on the giant back lawn of the castle. I really like Poseidon.
This lawn also had a beautiful pool with friendly fish as well as a bunch of swans (Ludwig loved swans). Casey, Mary, Taylor,and I had many arguments about whether we would rather live in Munich in the less cool palace or closer to the alps with the amazing castle. Location, location, location. You could take a 20 min bus from SchloB Nymphenburg and be in downtown Munich. A bus from Neuschwanstein would take about 2 hours to the nearest metropolis...
August 6, 2019
Der kleine Kneipe (The Little Pub)
I went to buy a bike in Fuerth today buuuut I mistranslated the seller's message and ended up getting there an hour early! I found a small pub at 2pm and went inside. I was nervous but I talked to the people in there in German. Unfortunately, they were difficult to understand due to their heavy Franconian dialects but I was able to drink and talk with them for about an hour before I needed to pick up my bike. It was quite a unique experience for me!
August 9, 2019
Kaerwa Hoefles
Every year, the Post SV volleyball team goes to Hoefles to celebrate in the small town's festival, or Kaerwa. It is a relative small festival compared to the ones I've been to because the town is so small. We biked to the town (about a 45 minute bike) and went to the festival after spending time at a teammates house (he lives in Hoefles). Here is a picture of us beginning to drink MaS Bier (1 liter of festival beer).
After a few drinks and food, we went outside to enjoy the two carnival booths set up for the fest. The tent was built on a farm so on one side, kids could ride a merri-go-round and on the other side were farm horses. Here we are with Tobi's kids (left to right): Michi, Nico, Mia (below), Phillip, Tobi, Tobi, Manu, Chris, Ben (below), Smacko
At one point of the evening, the band began to play a song and my entire team cheered and put a bench on the table. I was confused, but followed suit when everyone got on the bench and did this rollercoaster-like dance to the song. As you can tell, a lot of people were skeptical of us but we were having too much fun to mind :P
Here we are again! Our club is called "Post SV" but the German word for "Cheers!" is "Prost!". This is Prost SV (top row): Nico, Smacko, Chris, Tobi, Manu. (bottom row): Phillip, Michi, and Tobi
August 15, 2019
Irish Crawl
Kara, Taylor, and I decided to go on a bar crawl of our own design! They had holiday so we decided to hit up the five Irish pubs in Nuremberg. This is a picture of Kara and Taylor at O'Sheas, our first stop. After a lot of Guiness, our final stop ended with Kara and I doing karaoke :D
August 16, 2019
Crazy Nate's and Exploring
John, Kara, Taylor, and I went to a Mexican restaurant called Crazy Nate's and it is by far the best Mexican food you can find in Nuremberg. We are so happy we finally found a place that serves real Mexican food!! We walked back from the restaurant and did some fun exploring in a park!
August 17, 2019
Cases are Heavy
John and I are being strong boys and carrying a case of beer to John and Kara's apartment! We played some Catan afterwards and then a little beer die before hitting the bars :)
August 19, 2019
Rumours
We bought a record player and the greatest album of all time. I really enjoy relaxing and listening :)
August 20, 2019
Building Furniture
We ordered a bunch of furniture last week and started building today! Here is our new coat and shoe rack! Makes our home look a little better :P
August 21, 2019
Relaxing :)
Relaxing evening with Taylor! We ate potato tacos then drank while we called Miguel because it was his bday!! Happy Birthday, Miguel!!!
August 22, 2019
Yu Yu Hakusho
I watched some Yu Yu Hakusho after practice today and enjoyed a cold beer. Practice was tiring so this was a good way to unwind before bed!
August 23, 2019
Balcony Beers
Tay and I enjoyed a few beers on our balcony! Our furniture finally showed up so we can enjoy the nice weather while it lasts :)
August 24, 2019
Helping Wolfi Move!
Our libero Wolfi asked the team to help him move today! His family is growing and they found an awesome three bedroom place north of the titlestadt. He asked the team to help him and around 10 of us were there by 9am. In total, there were at least 30 people helping move at any given time. The moving process is so much faster and smoother with so many people - this is a practice the US should adopt. They started a bit before 9 but we were just about complete done and setup in the new place by 1pm. This team is incredibly supportive of one another and that makes me happy! It takes a village! This is Coach in the trailer. He rode back there :P
August 26, 2019
Veggie Lasagna!!
Veggie Week again for Tay and I! I made another mean veggie lasagna!!
August 27, 2019
Bar :)
We now have a fancy liquor cabinet! When I showed this cabinet to Miguel, he told me we needed much more liquor so that is my next task.
August 28, 2019
Siddhesh's Bday!!!!
I checked a bunch of stuff off of my chore list today and to celebrate, I bought myself stuff to snack on while I made Siddhesh a Hagrid cake!!
Here is the crew! Siddhesh is amazing and I'm happy he got to celebrate around people who love him! Happy Bday Siddhesh!
August 29, 2019
Manu's Bday and Practice :)
Manu (pictured far right in the blue) hat Geburtstag! (It's his birthday!) We celebrated after practice by drinking, socializing, and playing hacky-sack. Pictured in the back from right to left: Freddi, Me, Tobi, Wolfi, Tobi, Manu and taking the selfie is the WONDERFUL MICHI
Here is us leaving to bike home. Michi and I decided we need doener so we stopped at Sultan and ate the BEST doener. It was a wonderful night and I bonded even more with my team (especially Michi!). Happy Bday Manu!!
August 30, 2019
Volksfest!!!!
We went to Volksfest to meet up with Taylor and Kara's old coworker! It was an action packed evening but my favorite part was getting buckets. Pictured here is Kara, John, and Aaron (left to right)
August 31, 2019
John's Hockey Game!
John played his first home game today and he did amazing! Their team was very fun to watch but we weren't cheering hard enough and we lost :( Their jerseys are impossible to read so next time I'm bringing binoculars! John got the Golden Helmet which means he was his teams best player!! Such pride :)
July 1, 2019
Gym Time
Our gym has a section with a wall open to the outdoors which is amazing on nice days!
July 2, 2019
Beautiful day in the Hauptmarkt
Here is nice shot of the Frauenkirche in the Hauptmarkt. Clear skys :)
July 3, 2019
Tostones !!!
I finally found plantanos so I made tostones today. It is one of my favorite Puerto Rican dishes - served best with mayoketchup!
July 4, 2019
Happy 4th of July
This is the aftermath of the 4th of July meal I made! We had hot dogs, watermelon, french fries, and US beer (very expensive here). It was a delicious filling meal.
I went to practice after the filling meal with my USA shorts and a Bud Light shirt. Gotta represent !
July 5, 2019
Going out with Siddhesh!
We went out with Siddhesh and his friend from home and had a wonderful evening. Pictured here is Saloni (left) and Tay (right)
Pictured in the selfie is Siddhesh (left) and Smacko (right)
July 6, 2019
Photoshoot in Woehrd
We had a team photoshoot! Top row (left to right): Manu, Flo, Chris. Middle row (left to right): Timo, Smacko, Phillip. Sitting (left to right): Sebastian, Freddi
Found a cool fountain on the Woehrder See. The horse spits water :)
July 7, 2019
Hiking Adventure
Taylor and I went on an adventure while we had a rental car to WeiBenstadt. We hiked and explored on a somewhat chilly day but it was still beautiful.
We hiked to a local town and found an amazing biergarten. Nothing like a yummy beer at the end of a long, uphill hike!
July 8, 2019
Homework :(
Doing some German homework late at night.
July 9, 2019
Pizza!
I made a pizza and it looks delicious! Unfortunately, I burnt the bottom because I don't understand how the ovens here work yet. I homemade those meatballs and by golly were they yummy despite everything else.
July 10, 2019
Enjoying the new place
Drinking a yummy vodka sprite and listening to some music. I love the new place... Being settled is supremely underrated!
July 11, 2019
Festival on a Rainy Day
Found a festival in Nuremberg titlestadt on a rainy day. Festivals like this show up all the time in the summer!
July 14, 2019
Quesadillas!
Taylor made quesadillas today and served them with refried beans and guac. It was a delicious meal, especially due to the lack of authentic Mexican food here :P
July 15, 2019
Opel!
The car we rented happened to be an Opel. This is the car we were obsessed with when my high school group visited 10 years ago. It was a nice car but I'm a little biased.
July 17, 2019
Making Dinner
Once a month, Taylor and I want to eat vegetarian! This is halfway thru our veggie week and we are eating goooood :)
July 18, 2019
Train ride back from Practice
Left practice and took the train back because I was feeling lazy. The trains here are fairly simple and reliable.
July 19, 2019
Friday !!
During my break from class, I sat near by the Pegnitz (river that goes through Nuremberg) and enjoyed the view!
Taylor and I got drinks at a local Indian restaurant. I drank a not great beer from Indian but the food was DELCIOUS and spicy!!
July 20, 2019
Ref Training and FCN
I spent most of my day with my teammate Roman trying to pass German referee training. The day started with a lecture (in German) and then there was a written test. I passed with a 44/50! Then we had to play and each person had the opportunity to ref. The day went from 9am to around 5pm but I needed to get back quickly because...
I went to the FCN (Football Club Nuremberg) game against PSG (Paris Saint-Germain) a little late. I showed up a little after halftime and FCN was losing 0-1. They scored an equalizer and the atmosphere was incredible. I went with John, Kara, Alex, Niklas, and Taylor :)
July 21, 2019
Classic Open Air Concert
John, Kara, Taylor, and I went to an orchestra in a park. It was amazing! The crowd was unreal and the music was also fantastic. We made sandwiches and drank wine!
Our friends Kathi and Christian showed up and enjoyed the music with us :)
John is photogenic!
July 24, 2019
Beach with Post SV
My teammates and I played some beach! From left to right: Flo, Freddi (blocking), Jan (hitting), and Tobi
July 25, 2019
Picking up Pizza
Went to pick up pizza on one of the hottest days of the year! While I was sweating in the pizzeria, I enjoyed a yummy hefeweizen.
July 26, 2019
Practice Test
On Fridays this month, we take a practice exam for B2 certification. So far, I've passed every test but not as well as I would have liked. Still gotta study a lot more!!
July 27, 2019
Night of Adventures!
John, Kara, Alex, Niklas, Taylor, and I played a wonderful game of six person Catan! This may have been my worst game (I was red) because I only scored 3 points. The game ends when someone scores 10 points and everyone starts the game with 2!
After Catan, we went out to see Daniel Kahn & the Painted Bird. The band was playing for Bardentreffen - a weekend music festival in Nuremberg. The show was fantastic - as was the crowd.
Later at night, we went to find other groups performing. We found an alleyway nearby Wanderer that had a guy playing accoustic guitar. It was an enjoyable evening with great music!
July 29, 2019
CASEY AND MARY
Casey and Mary visited us!! This is us enjoying Nuremberg on a bridge where people relax, chat, and drink wine! Pictured (left to right): Smacko, Mary, Casey, Tay
July 30, 2019
Annafest in Forchheim
Casey, Mary, John, Kara, Taylor, and I went to a festival in Forchheim. We enjoyed delicious beers and festival food :)
July 31, 2019
Neuschwanstein Castle
We visited King Ludwig II's Neuschwanstein beautiful castle! It was a unfinished yet unbelievable castle. The architecture of the inside was somehow prettier than the outside. If you ever visit Germany, you should check it out!!
Pictured here is a photo of Taylor and I from a castle balcony!
We went on a small hike further up the mountain to get a view from a famous bridge. I was too scared to go near the bridge and Casey took two steps onto it then turned around. Our brave partners went out there and enjoyed the view. Here is Mary in front of the castle!
June 1, 2019
Setting up Beach Volleyball Courts
My volleyball team (Post SV Nuremberg) has a couple sand courts Southwest of the city. I took the train in the morning there to install the nets. This picture is on my way to the courts. There was a Siemens building (very common) and we were also pretty close to the old radio/tv broadcasting antenna! The day was awesome except for the evil caterpillars that I was allergic to.
June 2, 2019
Pro Beach Tournameny
Today was the final of the pro beach tournament in Nuremberg. We saw the semi-finals and the finals for men and women and it was wonderful! It was a long tiring day in the sun but we had plenty of drinks and good company :)
From left to right: Jan, Michi, Smacko (me!)... There was an AM special: free Aperol Spritz and a PM special: BOGO Aperol Spritz so we were drinking fancy.
The Frauenkirche looked so neat with the beach court in front. It was an unforgettable experience!
June 3, 2019
Packing to Head Stateside
We were packing to head back to the states for a wedding and I realized I never gave Dan his socks back! Jonah had given them to me a few months before I left (Dan originally gave them to Jonah to help him look stylish for a date) and I had forgotten until now! I packed the socks (with the Reese's cup inside) and will give them to Dan in the States. Also, I leaned the socks next to a German beer for proof that these socks were intercontinental.
June 4, 2019
Dan's Bday: Stateside
Happy Birthday, Dan! Unfortunately, while everyone was taking pictures of the beautiful couple that is Dan and Clare, Andy Tom Sawyer'd me into grilling. I was out on the scary balcony with Jonah and Andy during this wonderful photoshoot. It was great to see my frands and give Dan his socks back. I tried to get pictures myself but all you can make out is Jonah's big head in the reflection :(
June 5, 2019
Family Time!!
I missed my family so very much! Picture left to right is Tom, Cole, Smacko... Tom (Panda) is my big brother and Cole (the artist formerly known as Chedda) is my nephew. I love them both so dearly! I got to get dinner and ice cream with them as well as Ty, Kari, Sam, Mom, and Dad! It was great food with even better people!!!
June 6, 2019
St. Louis Blues win Game 5
The Blues are in the Stanley Cup Finals and I went to watch the game at Dan and Andy's! We drank a lot of Bud Light Platinums and played with Arthur (a very good pup). The Blues won so it was a good evening (plus I was with Dan and Andy!).
June 8, 2019
Kassee and Trevor's Wedding!
Taylor's cousin Kassee got married and Tay was the matron of honor! It was a great celebration with much dancing. Here is a nice photo of Tay and I :)
Dabbing is still cool.
Left to right: Tom, Lauri, Jordan, Taylor, Smacko, Eric... My other family!!
June 10, 2019
White Sox!!
We went to the White Sox game the day before we flew back to Deutschland. This picture is around the 3rd inning when the score was still close.
This is one of the best parts about going to the Sox game. I love the sport but one of my favorite things about the cell is this bad boy. I cannot help but get an ice cream helmet every time I go to the Cell. Additionally, we went with some none baseball lovers so this was a great way to turn some bored/frowning faces into smiles.
:( ===> :)
June 11, 2019
White Sox Postgame (it was the 11th in Germany :P)
Final score: Nationals 12, White Sox 1... We got to see a grand slam and someone almost hit for the cycle! The White Sox clearly wanted Tay and I to go back to Germany with their performance today :P
June 12, 2019
Flying back to Deutschland
We got pizza and beers at the airport when we landed in Frankfurt. We missed our 7am connection so we had some time to relax/eat/drink a bit. Beer is the only drink option when you are in Germany xd
We went back to Wanderer to try to fight of the impending jetlag. This dunkel (dark beer) was lecker (delicious).
June 14, 2019
Happy Taylor!
I bought Taylor some hot sauce because there are not many spicey food options in Deutschland. She was a very very happy gal :D
To add to the happiness, she got ice cream at her favorite ice cream place in Nuremberg. Even though the guy that works there never understands her German, we are frequent customers!
June 15, 2019
Bergkirchweih Erlangen 2019
This was one of the most crowded festivals I have ever seen! It is held every year in Erlangen (20 min train ride from Nuremberg). This festival had beer, of course, and everyone drank on the side of a mountain. The only beers a person could order were 1 L (roughly 3 US beers). It was very crowded and hectic but also fun.
Tay and I were on the side of the mountain with a bunch of friends and we decided it was a good idea to take a selfie. This is the only selfie that ended up okay because our friends kept messing with us (that is what good friends do!).
I found my friend Flo from the volleyball team randomly in the crowd. I was very excited to see him and he made me get up on the benches and socialize in German with his friends. He is a very good egg :)
June 17, 2019
Big Stairs
I had just found a gym I liked and on my way back I saw these random really tall stairs. They looked cool so I took a picture. When I climbed up them, it turned out it was someone's private property and I was not supposed to climb those stairs xd
June 19, 2019
Holiday Eve
Taylor had the following day off so we decided to get some drinks. We found a cool carribean bar and ordered the special - 4 Cuba Libres for 20 Euro (cocktails aka longdrinks are usually much more expensive than that here). Here is me with the Cuba Libres and...
Here is Tay with em! Whose camera is better??
I also went to an apothecary and they had awesome turtles.
June 20, 2019
Festival in Burggraben (Castle Moat)
Tay and I went to a festival in the moat of the castle. We had and awesome time in one of the coolest areas of Nuremberg. We ate delicious pulled pork spaetzle and saw a Mexican food stand that was serving lo mein (confusing).
June 21, 2019
Laundry day!
We don't have a washing machine yet so it was laundry day for me! I did homework as my clothes were cleaned.
June 22, 2019
BIRYANI
Siddhesh invited us over for some homemade biryani (one of my favorite dishes). We ate delicious food, watched cricket, and then watched Magic Mike 2. This was a wonderful evening :)
June 23, 2019
Tsingtao
Taylor and I went to a Vietnamese/Thai restaurant down the street from us. The food was tasty and I also got to drink a yummy Chinese beer!
June 25, 2019
Woehrder See (Lake Woehrd)
I went to play volleyball with some friends and on my run to the courts, I saw a bunch of ducks!
June 26, 2019
Peter's Bday!!
It was our good friend Peter's bday and I was in charge of baking the cake. I did my best and it reminds me of when Hagrid baked the cake for Harry's 11th bday.
June 27, 2019
Built some Furniture
We have a closet now!! It feels good to be more moved in and to organize our clutter ! Thanks IKEA!!
June 28, 2019
World Cup Soccer!
Taylor and I watched the USWNT win in the quarterfinals!!
June 29, 2019
Building more furniture
I built us a nice dresser! We still need to paint it but we can finally take our clothes out of our suitcases :P
June 30, 2019
Waiting for Mam Mam
There is an AMAZING burger place down the street from us. We ordered ahead of time and then went to pick it up. Here is a picture of us waiting (patiently) for our food.
May 1, 2019
Feiertag = Nuremberg Volksfest Noch Einmal
Everyone had the day off so we went to Nuremberg Volksfest (similar to a state fair in the US). We danced on benches in a German beer hall!
Left to right: Peter, Rahm, Kara, John
May 2, 2019
Volleyball Training/Trinken
I went to volleyball practice and shortly after we practiced, someone brought out a case of beer which we quickly finished. I like my team :)
May 3, 2019
Spazieren Gehen (Going for a walk)
I went for a walk around the titlestadt walls and saw a neat tower.
May 4, 2019
Die Blaue Nacht (The Blue Night)
Die Blaue Nacht is a wonderful cultural festival that takes place in Nuremberg. Pictured above (left to right) is Smacko/me, Taylor, Kara, and John. We are standing in front of an amazing light show displayed on the Nuremberg Castle!
The castle had a ten minute long light show displayed on it which we watched in entirety. Above is a small portion of what we saw.
These are my very good friends (left to right) Taylor, Kara, and John. I'm very lucky to have them around. This is taken in front of Lorenzkirche, a beautiful Lutheran church turned blue on Die Blaue Nacht.
May 5, 2019
Cinco de Mayo (5th of May)
We celebrated Cinco de Mayo by making tacos, drinking tequila, and spending good time with friends. We played Settlers of Catan and John won both games :( Pictured left to right: John, Kara, and Tay
May 6, 2019
Zurueck zur Schule (Back to School)
I started an intensive German class today and forgot to take a picture of the building I'm in. This is on my walk from the class to the bookstore to buy my course book. I thought it was pretty and I hope you think so too!
May 7, 2019
Piggies!
There are a bunch of awesome pigs in this bookstore. The pig in Germany is said to bring good luck! :)
May 8, 2019
Sprachschule Aktiv
This is the building in which I (Smacko) take classes in Monday thru Friday. Class is enjoyable and I'm meeting a bunch of new people!
May 9, 2019
Hausaufgaben (Homeworks)
This is the part of school I did not miss! We get a good amount of homework daily because we have so much to learn. This is not fun but it is very necessary and helpful (thanks Victoria...)
May 11, 2019
Ein bewoelkter Tag (A cloudy day)
This is a pretty view of Kaiserstrasse in the titlestadt. Today was cloudy but still a good day!
May 13, 2019
Quiet day at the Hauptmarkt (main market)
Today was one of the calmer days at the Hauptmarkt. I love this area - photogenic from every angle. Also happy birthday, Dad!!
May 14, 2019
One Computer is not enough
With the amount of homework I am assigned, one computer does not do the trick. Here is my setup in the hotel in Gostenhof. It was a late night studying!
May 15, 2019
Morning - Nuremberg, Evening - Forchheim
Another pretty picture of the Hauptmarkt! Some stands are still being set up and there is not much foot traffic yet. The big church in the background is the Frauenkirche which is a Roman Catholic church!
I went to Forchheim (Taylor's office is in Forchheim) and got dinner with Dave again! We drank delicious beer and each enjoyed a pizza from a great Italian restaurant.
These are our pizzas in the oven. The oven was built into the wall of the restaurant. I think my pops should get one of these :P
May 16, 2019
Apartment!!
This is our apartment building. We are living on the first floor (the one with the lowest balcony right where the orange begins). We are so excited to get settled!
This was taken on one of the many cool bridges in Nuremberg. I want to swim in this river but I have been told by many Germans that this is not a good idea.
May 18, 2019
IKEA Round 1
We went to IKEA today and bought an awesome couch and a bed for our guest bedroom (please come visit us !). Taylor had never had IKEA meatballs until today and they exceeded expectations. Maybe my favorite food :P
May 19, 2019
Strange Weather
Today provided some weird weather! We took a selfie in the rain but as you can see, we were also blinded by the sun.
This is the view we had in the sunshine/rain of Dr. Kurt Schumacher StraBe.
At the end of the street, we could see the dome of St. Elisabeth Kirche, another Roman Catholic church! Weird weather made for a beautiful and fun day.
May 20, 2019
Flowers in the Hauptmarkt
Here is the view of the Hauptmarkt facing south! They had a flower sale in addition to the normal stands set up in the market.
May 21, 2019
Ghost child?!
I was walking home from practice when I saw an upturned tricycle in a pond. I hope the kid is okay and not a ghost!
May 22, 2019
New Apartment!!
We just got keys to our new place! I took a picture of all the lightbulbs in our apartment because I gotta install light fixtures. This was the artsiest picture of a lightbulb I took that day. It was taken in our big ol' living room!
May 24, 2019
Stadtstrand (City Beach)
We got drinks with some friends from Taylor's work at an awesome place called Stadtstrand. It is in the middle of the titlestadt but they brought in a bunch of sand and tiki bars. This is one of the many fun and relaxing nights we have had there so far. They lit up our area with green lights and I thought it looked extra pretty!
May 25, 2019
Freaky Friday and Celebration Shots
I still don't know enough lore/history from Nuremberg so I decided to make up some of my own stories. If two people, dissatisfied with their own lives, walk under this bull simultaneously, they will switch lives - much like the plot of the hit Disney movie Freaky Friday starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan.
We took celebration shots of whiskey (which costs 8 euros per bottle) with our dear frands John and Kara. We are happy to be living in an apartment now :)
May 27, 2019
What's this?
Next weekend, there is a pro beach volleyball tournament! This is a photo of the Hauptmarkt in Nuremberg and they are building the courts in preparation. I am an excited boy!
May 28, 2019
Take Flight
We have guests! We got the apartment just in time for our frands Allison and Hannah to visit. We bought a long flight of beer at a great Nuremberg brewery and this is us right before we enjoyed it! It is fun to show off Nuremberg to people :)
May 29, 2019
Drei in Weggla
You cannot visit Nuremberg without trying the delicious street food! From left to right, we have Hannah, Allison, and Tay enjoying Drei in Weggla, which is three mini sausages in a delicious bun. Highly recommend !!
May 30, 2019
Mikes's and Hauptmarkt
I got lost walking home from practice and stumbled across this interesting looking restaurant. I did not go in but I really want to know more about it - the menu looks great.
This is a picture when I was less lost the same evening. I was about 5 minutes from home but the Frauenkirche looked too cool with sand courts to not snap a pic!
May 31, 2019
Back at Stadtstrand
We went to Stadtstrand again and I saw a neat looking booth. From my understanding, Thomas Sabo is a big wig in Nuremberg. The hockey team here is officially called the Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers.
April 2, 2019
Landing in Europe
We landed safely in Poland and got to walk on the tarmac in Warsaw! This was the plane that took us from Warsaw to Nuremberg.
April 3, 2019
Potential Apartment and Great Views
We toured an apartment on this river but we did not get it. Still a gorgeous river!
April 5, 2019
Drinking Beer in the Hotel
A six pack of this beer is 1.75 Euros!!
April 6, 2019
Bierchen und Buehnchen in GoHo
Our first weekend we went to a drinking festival with music. Here is the crowd outside of a bar in Gostenhof (GoHo).
April 9, 2019
Blurry doge
The cute pup accross the street from me had a light up collar and it made me happy but it took me a while to get my phone out.
April 11, 2019
Living Hotel Balcony View
Lazy day. Hung out on the balcony and enjoyed the nice weather.
April 12, 2019
Nuremberg Falcons BC Playoffs
Went to a basketball playoff home game. Atmosphere was awesome and Nuremberg completed the quarterfinal sweep!
April 13, 2019
River through the titlestadt
Stopped to take a picture on our way to view apartments. This river runs through the titlestadt which is the heart of Nuremberg.
April 14, 2019
Mein Knoechel tut weh!
Rolled my ankle playing volleyball earlier that week and was resting my injury.
April 15, 2019
Pizza!
Pizza here is delicious. This is Taylor (beer in hand) looking at the menu of one of our favorite places in Gostenhof.
April 16, 2019
Bring Your Husband to Work Day
Taylor and I had cultural training at Siemens in Forchheim and she also needed to fix her computer. I took a picture while waiting in the IT office.
April 17, 2019
Moat View of the Castle
I stopped to take a picture of the castle while I was running through the moat. It was a necessary stop because there are so many hills..
April 18, 2019
SULTAN
Tay in front of the best drunk food we've found so far. Late night doener and SPICY!
April 19, 2019
Wanderer
Kara, Tay, Prabhu, and I got drinks near Kara's place. Everyone sits on the cobblestones and enjoys each others' company.
April 20, 2019
Nuremberg Volksfest
Kara, Tay, and I went to Nuremberg Volksfest (similar to a state fair in the US). This photo is of a beer garden that we found. They went on the big drop and I stayed back drinking BUT THEN I was convinced to go on the Haunted Castle ride (it's haunted, can confirm).
April 21, 2019
Easter Festivities!!
Kara (left) and Taylor (right) posing while dying eggs. Blue was the only dye that worked well...
We also made Italian Easter bread (Carioscio family tradition) and it was DELICIOUS!!!
April 22, 2019
Hotel Room View
Neat picture from our hotel room window of Gostenhof at night.
April 24, 2019
Dave in Forchheim
I went to visit Dave (Tay's coworker) in Forchheim! Drank good beers and enjoyed the view from his hotel room.
April 25, 2019
A-Parma-tment
Taylor and I toured an apartment (we got it!) and this is the view from the balcony.
We then got Parma at an Australia place and it was the best Parma I've had since I was in Australia.
April 26, 2019
Famous Friends?
Our friend Kathi and her fiance bought soap with their picture on it and it made me happy.
April 29, 2019
GoT on a Rainy Day
Tay in front of Lorenzkirche. We are on our way to Kara and John's to watch GoT.
April 30, 2019
Volleyball Practice
Tuesday night volleyball practice with Post SV Nuremberg
