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)
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 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 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 12, 2021 SNOWWWW
It snowed so much! This is the best snowfall we've seen in Nuremberg and I am very
happy.
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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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!
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 2020 - Another Soft Lockdown
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 2020 - Spooky Szn
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 2020 - Celebrations
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 2020 - Swimming and Ruegen Vacation
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 2020 - Baseball and Adventuring
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 2020 - Outdoors Again !!
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 2020 - Slowly Returning to Normal
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 2020 - Quarantinin'
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 2020 - Friends Visiting & Global Pandemic
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 2020 - Vienna and Faschings
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 2020 - The Heart of Volleyball Season
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.
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 2019 - Christmas is Coming
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 2019 - Traveling (Croatia!)
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 2019 - Our First Oktoberfest
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 2019 - Experiencing Deutschland (Hoefles!!)
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 Siddesh'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 Siddesh a Hagrid cake!!
Here is the crew! Siddesh is amazing and I'm happy he got to celebrate
around people who love him! Happy Bday Siddesh!
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 2019 - Summer Festivals
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 Siddesh!
We went out with Siddesh and his friend from home and had a wonderful
evening. Pictured here is Saloni (left) and Tay (right)
Pictured in the selfie is Siddesh (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 2019 - To the States and Back
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
Siddesh 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 2019 - New Apartment and Exploring NUE
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 2019 - Our First Month Abroad
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