Dusseldorf and farewell

Since I was flying out of Dusseldorf to head home on Thursday, Nik and I decided it would be a great idea to drive down the day before. Spend some time in the city to explore, stay the night then I could fly out easily the next morning. Our favorite travel agent (Gail) booked us a nice hotel and we took the two hour drive to Duss (as they call it). Upon arriving we checked in, then took off to find the downtown area along the Rhine River. Our plan was to take the train, but of course we weren't to sure how and when to take it. With a small direction from the front desk person she sent us in the right vicinity. After taking the train the wrong way for two stops, we quickly exited and headed in the right direction. It is so much more fun discovering the ins and outs of a city with someone. When you screw up, you can laugh about it together, instead of being stressed as a solo traveler.

Once downtown, we blindly guided ourselves to the river. Stumbling upon an amazing area of walking streets lined with restaurants and shopping. It was fantastic, better than all the other cities I had seen. For a Wednesday evening, everyone was out and about. We enjoyed some amazing German food and headed to the river for a spectacular view. We strolled along the river, watched the sunset, walked around the streets, tasted yummy food, laughed and enjoyed every last minute we had together. Definitely one of my top ten days ever!

The next morning we got up early to head to the airport. Of course, leaving is always hard. I was so sad to leave and secretly wished I could stay. I knew it wasn't realistic, but a girl can dream right. The flight was pretty seamless, even though my ticket from Dusseldorf to Amsterdam was canceled. There were still seats available, so they just rescheduled me. I think something got screwed up when I changed my ticket on the way over. Again, secretly I was wishing they couldn't get me on the flight, but this wish was not going to come true. I touched down in Amsterdam with enough time to walk from one plane to the next about 4 terminals away. I was sure my luggage wouldn't make it. After 10 hours in the air from Amsterdam all the way to Portland going over Iceland, Greenland and Northern Canada I touched down in Portland. My luggage arrived with me and my lovely roommate Martina was there to pick me up.

It was my favorite trip so far. I have been to Argentina, Chile, Thailand and now Germany all in the same year. This one stood out the most. Even though we didn't do as much traveling as I had on other trips. The fact that Nik and I got to be together for a few days after being separated for a while made the quality of time together so much more important. Nik, I already miss you dearly. Although I am not looking forward to seeing you on a computer screen (compared to in person) I am thankful that we have it, because it makes our separation so much easier. Thank you so much for everything! It truly was the best.

Bike ride to Wewelsburg Castle

We had the day to spend doing whatever we wanted as long as it was within the distance of a bike. So, Nik and I decided to bike out to Wewelsburg Castle, (about 25 km away). This castle was the place Reichführer SS Heinrich Himmler transformed the SS to become the most powerful institution in the Third Reich. Hitler and many other leaders met here regularly before the war, planning and plotting the Holocaust. There was a concentration camp here as well during the war. About 3900 people were interned here. Through the cruelty, starvation and inhuman working and living conditions about 1285 prisoners did not survive. We walked through the museum reading everything we could that was in English (there wasn't a lot). Luckily there was an English tour going on, so we were able to ease drop a little on what the guide had to say. This place was very educational, but I found it hard to take in, just knowing and realizing that mankind could be so cruel and evil.

After the museum we walked over to the castle. The North tower was the main attraction. Inside you could walk up stairs to a room at the top. Inside the room is the Black Sun tiled on the floor and large windows looking out in each direction. I guess the Black Sun is used for a lot of Satanic groups and they migrate to the castle to see it. The people here try very hard to keep that sort of thing away from the castle. They want this to be used for education, not encouraging negative activity. Below, the large room is a crypt. It was very eerie and cold. It was a cylinder shaped room, with a sunken in center (kind of like a fire pit). Apparently this is where they held important meetings. When standing in the center of the room, even a whisper can be heard from any where in the room. When someone speaks, it sounds like it is echoing through a sound system. Personally I did not like this room at all. I got really creeped out when Nik was taking pictures and had to leave abruptly. The rest of the castle is used as a restaurant and none other than a youth hostel. I found that weird, because personally I would never want to stay in a place like that. I was definitely ready to leave when we decided to head back. It was creepy!

On our way we stopped near a field that had a great view of a small town below. We had packed a lunch earlier, so we sat and enjoyed the view. I was so thankful to be there with Nik.

Nik's Bachelor Pad

My whole purpose of coming out here was to spend time with Nik. He had the day off on Monday, so our plan was to take the train to Berlin, stay the night and come back early Tuesday. Monday morning I knew Nik was not in any shape to get up and go. He was wiped from his games the day before. He really didn’t want to let me know that though so he was doing his best to mask it. I could tell he really just wanted to stay home and frankly I was perfectly ok with that. So that is exactly what we did. The weather was crummy anyway.

Before I came over, I sent Nik a care package with all sorts of things he might be missing from the states. One of the things I sent was a box of confetti cake mix and confetti cake frosting. I was glad that I sent it, because I knew he would appreciate it (it is his favorite cake), but I knew he would never put on his baking cap and make the cake. He lives with 4 others guys, I could see how that would be a little weird. So, the day we stayed home, I made the cake for him while we watched a couple movies. He was so happy to have a taste from home. One of the movies we watched was Schindler’s List, because Nik had never seen it. I was concerned his roommates might be offended, but the movie was theirs and Nik assured me they are not afraid to talk about their countries history. I have to say it was awkward watching such a sad and disturbing movie in the country it was about.

When Nik arrived in Paderborn he really had no idea what living situation he was walking into. He was very fortunate to have things end up the way they have. For a guy, living with 4 other guys, having your own room, a fridge full of food and beer and a projection tv screen is about as nice as it gets. They make most of their meals at home and they mainly consist of bratwurst and pasta. I had to laugh, because one day I had bratwurst in my breakfast, lunch and dinner. Trust me I am not complaining, I actually liked it. This truly is a bachelor pad from heaven. I think Nik likes it, especially since he has lived with his grandma for the past 3 years. But, he says he will definitely be ready to leave when it is time. It is pretty much a party house, there is random people walking in and out of the house of all hours and he consistently has to get up at night to turn the music down. On the flip side though, the guys do a pretty good job of keeping the house clean. Each one of them does a little here and there (surprising for guys), so I was impressed with how clean the house stayed.

We have eaten most of our meals at the house since I have been here and I really enjoy it. Nik has been so sweet to make me breakfast each morning and we have worked together making dinners. I am so glad Nik is in a safe place to call home for a while.

One Wish

Before this whole Germany thing happened with Nik, I told him the one thing that I felt I missed in his life was his baseball player experience. Nik has been a part of baseball his entire life. He lives, breathes and loves the sport. Since we have been together he has taught me so much about it and I myself have learned to appreciate it. I told him that I wish that I got to see him play baseball. At the time that seemed like a far fetched wish, but then Germany happened and we realized my wish of seeing him play was going to come true.

On Sunday I was fortunate to see Nik in action. I knew he was good, but when I actually saw him, I realized he was the staple of the team. Without him on the Paderborn team, this team would not and could not function. Nik is the catcher (the only catcher) and from the eyes of a novice a very good catcher at that. He played every single inning of a double header. He also was either the #1 or #2 hitter on the team, meaning he is one of the best hitters, so he was up at bat almost every inning as well. Not only did he get about 6 hits, but he made it home once, hit a triple another time and got a few people home as well. He also was nailed a few times by the ball, either catching behind the plate or running to first base (see below). I was so impressed with his skills and his abilities especially since he hasn’t played in 4 years. He was very modest when I complemented him on his talents and said he was much better a long time ago. I think it is safe to say I am his #1 fan whether it be playing baseball, coaching baseball, writing about baseball or just teaching me about the game of baseball.

The weather on Sunday was perfectly exceptional. So sunny in fact I had to be fully covered up (I did not have any sunscreen) because I did not want to fry my skin like I have so many times in the past. So in other words I was hot. I arrived early before the game to watch a little bit of a warm up. When the game started I was excited to see Nik in his uniform and to see how focused he was. As his girlfriend I can say he looked so handsome. The baseball field is small, but very beautiful. I was impressed with the turnout of people. Everyone had some sort of Untouchables propoganda on and there was a ton of little kids running around with baseball mitts to catch the fly balls. Not much different than the US. The announcer was funny, because most of the time he would speak in German, but a lot of the plays and calls he would say in English. I appreciated that. I happily sat by myself because I was there to see Nik, not really to socialize, but I did have a few visitors. The groundskeeper for the field is Serbian and absolutely adores Nik. He doesn’t speak a lick of English, but would come up to me and smile at me, pat me on the shoulder and talk to me in either Serbian or German, like I understood him. I would smile back, laugh and nod my head. He was very sweet. He sat behind me with his wife and another couple. They were so excited everytime Nik came up to bat and they would chant, “NIKO, NIKO, NIKO, NIKO!” It made me very happy to see that Nik had his very own fan club.

I think Nik was a little worried I wasn’t having fun, so he would check in on me from the dugout every now and then. I was having a ton of fun though, I found myself being the loudest cheerleader out there. Whenever Nik or Danny had a good play I would shout out some phrase or sentence I thought would be appropriate. At the end of the day, they had won both games. The first one they beat the team by ten, so they stopped the game in the 7th inning. The second game was much closer, but they still won 2 to 1. After the game, it is customary for the team to sit and have a few biers before they leave the field. I was a little worried I would be imposing by joining in, but Nik assured me it was just fine. I think he was proud that I was there, but I could tell he was very tired and hungry from his long day. So, afterwards we headed to a restaurant by his house and enjoyed a delicious bowl of goulash.

Nik, I am so proud of you and so impressed with you abilities as an athlete. I am so fortunate that my wish came true.

Day trip to Köln

Nik had the day off, so we decided to head down to Köln for a day trip. It is about a 2 hour drive from Paderborn, so we (Nik, Danny and I) borrowed Nik's roommates car (the Honda he picked me up at the train station with) and headed southwest to the city that is known as being very liberal. It is like the San Francisco of Germany. Upon arrival into the city we could see this gigantic cathedral towering over everything. The cathedral is called The Dom, it was one of the only surviving buildings during WWII in Köln. The Dom was hit around 70 times by aerial bombs, but never collapsed. Today it is known as one of the best known architectural monuments in Germany. Construction began on the church in 1248 and took until 1880 to complete. It is one of the worlds largest churches and the largest Gothic church in all of Northern Europe. We walked the outside in aww of the detail and precision that was put into every single part of the building.

We then walked inside to find the inside was even more spectacular. The arched ceilings, the long corridors, the stain glass windows all seemed so magnificent. It truly was amazing to me that mankind was able to make something so beautiful. We sat for a while in a pew and just took in our surroundings. The pictures actually don't do The Dom justice.

We then decided to check out the surrounding area. Outside The Dom was a huge square with artists painting elaborate pictures on the ground, street performers painted in the typical silver and gold (a San Francisco reminder), a group of girls singing some good ole' english soul music and even a skateboard exhibition was going on.

We headed into a popular local brewery Früh and tasted some of the local bier. You could tell this place had been around for a very long time. Actually we were looking for the bathroom, which ended up being in the basement down a spiral staircase. Our curiosity then got to us so we explored the building a little then decided to sit for a minute to enjoy ourselves. This region is famous for its Kolsch biers, so (of course) we sampled a coupled. Not to much later we found ourselves along the Rhine River walking through a market and eating some bratwurst from a street vendor. Delicious!!! Walking along the river, tasting the local food and really absorbing the culture around us was my favorite part of the day. People were everywhere sitting in the outdoor restaurants enjoying the great weather and scenery.

There was a lot of little walking streets in the town that we discovered. Each one completely different from the last, but they all were lined with restaurants, hotels and amazing signage. I got a kick out of these streets because I had never seen anything like them in person. We wandered for a while and grabbed some ice cream before we headed to see a Nazi Museum. I had the hazelnut flavor (which tasted like Nutela) and have since decided I don't want to taste another flavor again. It was that good, nothing could beat it.

Trying to find this place that was an old Nazi Prison was much harder than we anticipated. The streets were very hard to navigate around and it was getting a little frustrating feeling like we were going in circles. We came to the conclusion we were in the near vicinity so we parked the car and decided to walk it. Right when we started to walk, I decided to look in the guide book to see how much longer the museum was open. Luckily I did, because it had closed 2 hours earlier and we could have wasted much more time than we already had on finding the place. I was a little bummed we missed it, but then decided it just wasn't meant to be. Lesson learned for the future travelers though, go to the museums early instead of later in the day (they close early) and almost all museums (at least in Europe) are closed on Monday.

Tour of Paderborn

The town of Paderborn is much larger than I thought it would be. You can't exactly walk the town (ex. Nik's baseball field is about 3 miles from his house). So, Nik and Danny's form of transportation is a couple of bikes they purchased from the train station. Danny has a basket on the back for his gear and Nik's, well it doesn't really have breaks. Actually is does, but they are the kind you have to push backwards on the pedals. Luckily, there aren't any hills around here, so as long as he gives himself some distance he is just fine. We decided to borrow Danny's bike for Nik and myself to venture out to see the town. He took me to the main square, where all of the main shopping is. Since I don't have any clothes we did a little shopping for some exercise shoes, a few shirts from H&M and looked for a sports bra. Nothing is more hilarious than trying to tell a sales person you are looking for a sports bra. We don't know the German word for it, so we did a lot of hand motions and sharaid type gestures. It was pretty much a lost cause, apparently people don't workout much around here. We had some good laughs though making the effort.

Cathedrals are plentiful in these parts of the world. There is one everywhere you look. Paderborn fits right into this profile. In the downtown area, there is a beautiful Gothic style Cathedral. It was originally built in 1212-1280, but had to be rebuilt a few times from destruction in wars. We parked our bikes and decided to guide ourselves through the church. Beautiful is an understatement. Since I studied Architecture in college, seeing the types of buildings I studied is very exciting to me. Nik commented that he liked how excited I get when I see all of these things. It is like I am constantly going, "Wow, look at that. Oh cool, over there." I guess I just really appreciate the fact that I am here and I have always dreamed of coming to Europe.

Later Nik and I had some ice cream (I guess it is more gelato) at a local restaurant. We sat in the downtown square people watching, enjoying the beautiful weather and we had some great conversation. It is really a moment in life I will remember forever. One thing that I absolutely love here is all of the restaurants have huge outdoor patios. Everywhere you look there are people enjoying each others company over coffee, dessert, food or a beer. Every table is packed and the atmosphere is super relaxed.

When we walked in Nik's house after returning from our adventure, I looked on the floor to see a huge black bag. It took me a minute to register, but IT WAS MY BAG!!. I couldn't believe it. Delta came through and delivered my bag to his house. Hallelujah!! I was so excited. That meant I could return the stuff I bought and I had all of my goods, plus all the stuff I brought Nik. I brought him 3 new bats, catching gear, peanut butter, protein powder, Tapatio hot sauce and new cleats. He was so thankful, but almost more happy for me because I had all of my things.

Nik and Danny had to go to practice, so I decided to run along with them while they rode there bikes. It was a good run, keeping up with the boys plus I got to see their field. I watched them at practice for about 10 minutes (I didn't want to impose) and then ran back to the house. Totalling about 6 miles.

That night we invited Danny out to dinner with us. The only problem was we only had two bikes. So, I sat on the back of Nik's and held on tight. We looked so silly riding around and Nik kept joking that he was taking me on a date, picking me up on his sweet ride. It really was pretty cute. We stopped at a Pizzeria and each enjoyed our own whole pizzas. They were delicious! Ordering was a little bit more of a challenge. I could not read anything on the menu, so I basically closed my eyes, pointed my finger in the air and dropped it on something on the menu. I ended up loving what I got, so it was well worth the risk.

Long journey well worth the effort

While I was on the plane, Nik and Gail worked diligently to configure a plan for Nik and me to meet up. Amsterdam is about 4 hours from Paderborn and Nik was prepared to drive to the airport to pick me up. That clearing wasn't the best option since he had been up all night trying to figure this thing out and he would have to cross a country border, plus he had never driven in Germany before. I got off the plane and quickly checked my email. They had sent me an itinerary of what I was supposed to do. First check for luggage... not there. So, I filed a missing baggage claim. Second get a bus pass with one transfer and then Nik would meet me in Germany at the Duisburg stop where I was to get off. Duisburg is about an hour and a half from Paderborn. The one thing Gail and Nik both said to me when I talked to them, was whatever I do, DO NOT fall asleep. They did not want me to miss my stops. I kind of laughed at both of them and said I would for sure not do that. I was way to excited to be here. I got the pass, got on the train and soon transfered to the new train. Since this is my first time in Europe and I have been to South America and Thailand before, this place seemed like a breeze. I get on the new train and guess what... fell asleep. YIKES! I had not had much sleep and it was finally catching up to me. The problem is, if I messed up on any of the plan then it would make it really hard for Nik and I to find each other. We had no way of getting a hold of one another, unless we are both on Skype at the same time. Luckily, I don't think I was asleep to long, because I startled myself out of sleep and quickly decided I was wide awake again. Sleep had to wait, besides the view from the train was spectacular and I wanted to take it all in.

2 hours later I arrive at my stop. It has been a month since I have seen Nik and I was a little nervous. I knew everything would be right back to where we left it, but I still had those butterflies of nervous anticipation in my belly. I get off the train, looked around, then walked around the terminal and didn't see him anywhere. I quickly realized how big this train station is and I could easily miss him. I walked to the entrance of my terminal and thought for a second, "He isn't here, so I should go find him." But my gut tells me not to move, to stay put right where I was. I stand there for a few minutes. Each minute getting a little more worried. I scan all the people around me, looking and looking for that familiar face. Then, about 30 feet away, I recognize his plaid shirt. It was Nik! He was walking with a security guard in my direction. They were trying to find me. I run towards him. When I am about 10 feet away, he turns and sees me, smiles, then grabs me for a hug and big kiss. We hugged for a long time and instantly I felt like he has never been gone. Awwww! How sweet! We finally found each other and I made it. What an incredible feeling. After all that I had been through to get here, instantly it was well worth it.

He had borrowed his roommates car, so we had the job of getting ourselves back to Paderborn. Obviously everything is in German on the roadways, so after getting a little bit lost, we found our way to his new town. We didn't even care about being lost, we were together, that was all that mattered. Driving 170 km on the autobahn is a trip. It is the norm around here and I think Nik had fun driving the little Honda.

A little more than a hop skip and jump

With all of the happenings in the news of the volcano erupting in Iceland, I was leaving Portland knowing I had a slim chance of making it all the way across the Pond (Atlantic Ocean) to Germany. When I left Portland at 6:20 am on Tuesday, my connecting flight from Atlanta to Dusseldorf still said it was confirmed and leaving that day. I wasn't convinced, because the same flight the day before was canceled and the volcano situation had not changed much (at least the news was telling us this). I asked the guy at the counter what would happen if I got to Atlanta and my second flight was canceled. He basically told me they would get me eventually to Germany, but it would take days and they would not cover my stay. Yikes!! Chances were slim, I got Nik and Gail on the phone and discussed the situation. We all knew what a risk I was taking. The worst thing that could have happened would be I get to Atlanta and the flight is canceled and I have to come back to Portland on another flight. I had a good feeling about this and decided I would go ahead and take the risk. Really what did I have to lose.

While I am on the plane to Atlanta the worst happens. My flight from Atlanta to Dusseldorf gets canceled, about 30 minutes before I land, due to Germany not opening its airspace. My first thought was to cry, I really had a good feeling about this and usually my intuition is right on. Instead of crying, I decided before I head back to Portland I am going to do whatever I can to get me to Europe. I go straight to the customer service desk, luckily close by and not a huge line (about 6 groups ahead of me with 4 agents at the desk). I also call the customer service line while I'm still standing in line. The gentlemen on the line was nice, but the earliest he could get me a flight was the next Monday out of Atlanta. I laughed out loud and said that was not going to work for me, but was nice and hung up the phone. Now, keep in mind here, there are thousands and thousands of people trying to get to Europe right now and there are hundreds of planes that are miss placed, so I was very aware that the odds of me really making it to Paderborn were very low. I still decided to stand in line and just see, just maybe I could slip in on a flight. While I am waiting over an hour in line, I talk back and forth to Nik and Gail on the phone strategizing about what to say and how to get a ticket.

Finally a customer service agent calls me to the counter. By this time the line is all the way down the terminal and people are everywhere. I kept thinking, how am I going to stand out in this crowd so I can get some one to get me on a flight. All I could think of was SMILE. So... that is what I did. I walked up to Tyrone, the customer service agent, with a huge smile on my face, explained my situation and told him what I wanted. He looks at me kind of funny and says, "Are you sure you don't want to just go back to Portland." I smiled and said I would do that if it was the last option, but I wanted to exhaust all my other options before deciding to head home. I told him I will go anywhere in Europe, because once I get there, I will find my way to Paderborn. He looks in his computer for a while and starts out saying he can get me something in a couple days to Rome, to Frankfurt, to London. I'm thinking a couple days... that's not so good. So, I keep smiling and say what else do you have? You could put me anywhere, I am only one person, not very large, I could fit on any plane. I don't even care if its a real seat. He laughs and continues his search through the computer, while I am talking small talk with him (joking about this event, and asking him if he is ready to change professions.) Suddenly his eyes light up and he says, "Oh, wow, uh, what about Amsterdam... today... in an hour?" I smile, say "really?" and gladly accept. He goes on, "Wow, that's crazy, huh, don't tell anyone I am going to do this for you." Not really sure what he meant, but I gave him a high five and thanked him continually. The only thing I can think of is they were selling these seats for a ridiculous amount and he just gave one to me. He hands me a ticket and sends me to the terminal. The only problem with the ticket was it didn't have a seat assignment, I asked Tyrone and made him swear to me that this was an actual ticket and not a standby. He smiled and swore it was, I just had to get the seat assignment at the gate. I told him if it wasn't I was coming back to find him, but he assured me it was so I headed to the gate. Keep in mind, I had one bag checked, I was pretty clear this bag was not going to make it with me to Germany. Tyrone puts notes in the system to send it on, but he wasn't sure it was going to make it either.

I get to the gate and there is about 40 people in the line. I think, "Damn, he screwed me," but I wait in line anyway. Sure enough when I get up to the desk, I hold my breath, hand them the ticket and without saying a word to me, they exchange it with one that has a seat #. VICTORY!!! I did not want to get my hopes up to much, because I knew there was a lot more that could happen to prevent me from getting over the pond. After two hours of sitting on the runway (there was a lot of planes trying to leave Atlanta) we finally took off to head to Europe. 8 hours later I touched down in Amsterdam. REAL VICTORY!!! There was hardly any smog or volcanic ash in the air and the weather was quite nice. Now all I had to do was get to Nik .....

Walk, Race and Great Company

I was really looking forward to this weekend, not only was I doing a 10k race called the Bridge to Brew on Sunday, but Nik's parent's, Gail and Steve, were coming to town as well. We started off the weekend with a walk for MS Saturday morning. The walk took us from Pioneer Square (downtown) to the river and over two bridges (totaling about 3 miles). There was a band at the beginning motivating the crowd, which was nice, but we decided to fall back a bit to hear each other talk. We had a lot of fun, using it as a time to catch up and talk with one another.

Afterwards we headed to University of Portland for a baseball game. Gail and Steve used to come up here all of the time when Nik was in school to cheer him on during his games. They became really close with his coach and still are to this day. We enjoyed the game watching the Pilots beat LMU 5-1. Later that evening we were invited to his coaches house for dinner. Chris Sperry, his coach, is someone Nik has always respected and admired. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner of Greek Gyros, Chris made, and spent some quality time with his family reminiscing about old times. Chris has a great family (wife and 3 girls). Even though he is a busy Division 1 coach, he still manages to have a successful family life. I now see why they all have kept in contact with him over the years. What a wonderful guy! He complemented me saying, "Nik is way over his ski tips with you and he better not screw this up." Meaning Nik scored big time. I was flattered, but feel like I scored big time as well.

The next morning Martina and I got up early and headed to Widmer Brewery for the annual Bridge to Brew Race. It was a 10k (6.2 m) race, running over two bridges (different ones from yesterday), along the river, through the industrial area and back to Widmer. Beer and food was provided at the end, but for some reason a beer after a race didn't sound appealing to me so I passed. It was fun running in a race again though, something about the motivation and the excitement in the crowd makes me want to try hard and push myself.

Later that day Gail and I went shopping for a new Macbook Pro (for her of course). It was very exciting for her to get a Mac (all of her kids have them) and the first thing we did was Skype Nik. She loved it! Steve even got on for a while for his first Skype experience and thought it was great. For dinner, we met up with Andrew, Wanda and Martina and headed to a Mediterranean restaurant called Nicholas. Haha, spelled differently but I had to laugh! The food was exceptional, definitely one I will go back to. Pitas larger than anything I had ever seen and food to die for. Andrew is very close with the Kosach family because of the college baseball days playing with Nik, so they were excited to see each other and catch up. We had a ton of laughs and amazing food. It made for some memorable times.

Before the night was over we decided to stop at Veritable Quandary for an after dinner drink. The weather was fantastic so it was a no brainer to sit outside. It made for a perfect ending to a near perfect weekend (Nik, you were missed).

Thank you Gail and Steve for everything. I am so honored that you came to Portland for a visit. I truly enjoyed every minute and I look forward to many more memories.

Headed to the land of Bratwurst and Lederhosen

I have a few weeks before my new job begins, so I have decided to head to Germany for 9 days to watch Nik play some American baseball. That's right I'm taking a redeye on Tuesday (pending the Iceland volcano situation) to Dusseldorf, where he will pick me up and take me to Paderborn (the town he is living in). It is a little over 100 miles away, but since we will be taking the autobahn, I am sure we will get there pretty quick. I guess some people drive about 100 mph on this thing. I will be staying with him and his 4 other roommates. He has a couple days off while I am there, so we might venture out a bit to see the sights. He also has a double header game one of the days, so I will be able to finally see him in action.

I will definitely keep everyone posted on the events while I am there. I am very excited and can't wait to see my slugger play.

Visit from the Sis

I was so fortunate to have my sister Sarah come out from Idaho over the weekend for a quick trip to my new city. She arrived into town Friday morning. Our day was spent shopping, going to lunch at a fantastic place called Por Que No in the Mississippi District (amazing tacos), then hitting up the Beavers baseball game with some friends (Andrew and Wanda). I showed Sarah around the best I could, but since I am so new here, we had an interesting time getting from place to place. Most of it involved my trusty iPhone instructing us on where to go. Hopefully though I am starting to grasp it.

The next day, Wanda, Kim, Sarah and I decided to try a kettle bell class. Kettle bells are a newer form of exercise which involve a metal weight that looks kind of like a cowbell. You use your entire body for every move you do. We were the only people in the class, so the instructor was very helpful in teaching us how to get the right form. All in all we got a very good workout. Although, on Sunday I was so sore in my tush I had to take an ibuprofen to help the pain. Also, each of us had bruises on our forearms from the bells hitting them. OUCH!!! After the workout, we headed over to the Portland State Farmers Market (my new school). The weather was good, so we had a nice time sampling all the yummy veggies, fruits, cheeses, meats and even wine.

Later on Saturday, Sarah and I decided to meet up with Andrew and a couple other friends at University of Portland for another baseball game. I was excited to see this game, because this is where Nik played college ball and they were playing St. Marys (the team he coached when he lived in the Bay Area). I was much more entertained watching this game compared to watching the Triple A game the night before. The Pilots (UP) played so hard and kicked the crap out of the Gaels (St. Marys). They were hitting great and there was some amazing defensive plays. 

Afterwards we decided to hit up one of Portland famous happy hours. We chose Jake's Famous Crawfish in downtown Portland. They serve clams and 1/2 lb. burgers for about $4 a plate. The food of course was exceptional and we definitely did a good job of filling our bellies for just over $20 total. Gotta love happy hour!

That night we saw a movie at St. Johns Pub (a cute movie theater in my neighborhood). The movie "Valentine's Day" was so terrible though, I don't even want to talk about it. It was that bad! St. Johns Pub is a fun local restaurant/bar/movie theater that is great to go to for a cheap movie and dinner. Regardless of how bad the movie was, we still had fun in the atmosphere (besides the movie was only $3, so it wasn't a total waste). 

On Sunday morning, Sarah and I went for a 6 mile run in Forest Park. Forest Park is apparently the largest city park in the nation (beating out Golden Gate and Central Park). In other words, it is huge. We had a nice time running through what seems like the middle of no where and it is only about 5 minutes from my house. It was pretty muddy so we spent a lot of time jumping from dry spot to dry spot. Our long run definitely built up a nice appetite, so we met up with Martina and Wanda at the Tin Shed for brunch. This place is famous for its good breakfast. About an hour and a half later we were called to our table and had some ridiculously delicious brunch (well worth the wait). 

The rest of the day Sarah and I shopped around. We did a great job of not spending to much, even though we went to many places where we could have spent a pretty penny. While we were in Urban Outfitters I was walking over to where Sarah was and heard a loud crash. Apparently she was trying to pull out a drawer of tin letters, but the drawer did not have a bottom to it. So, all of the letters went crashing to the floor. We had a good laugh picking them up while an employee asked her is she hurt herself. 

On Sunday evening, Sarah's last night, I took her to Leisure for dinner. This place is kind of the neighborhood hangout. We rode bikes from my house (about a mile away). A bunch of my new friends joined in (all my roomies, Wanda, Andrew, Pat and Billy). It was so much fun having a bike crew and being able to ride on cruisers to a restaurant. This weekend flew by and it was so much fun having my best friend (my sister) here to show around. Thanks Sarah for the great memories!! I miss you already.