how to eat your face off in munich:

-doner (similar to a gyro only WAY better) done 28.8
-marzipan chocolate (bought it to eat on the train/plane/automobile)
-brats done
-lots and lots o pastries yup. oh man...
-maultaschen
-spaetzle today - the 2nd. perhaps the best EVER.
-dampfnudle today - for sure the best ever.
-hot spiced nuts done 28.8
-turkish basil creme spread done 28.8
-all i can eat sushi
-fresh handmade noodles check.
-this little thai joint around the corner from my old place (closed for remodeling)
-and if it was spargel (refer to an earlier post) season i would be ill from way way way too much white asparagus. that i guarantee.
-schnitzel with johannisbeer and fries today again - delightful.
-gelatto done and done 25.8, 28.8

-rahmspeck(?) miracle of all miracles YES! today. (didn't think that one would happen)

-and lambrusco at the lake - there are some good stories with that one... (they don't sell it there anymore)

-bier uh-huh. nummy.

emotional memory

they say scent is the sense most closely related to memory. more powerful than sight or sound. crazy-huh? you know how grandma's house smells or your favorite meal or your mom or boyfriend or different countries? yeah, different countries smell well... different. i love how hawaii smells like magnolia and plumeria and colorado smells like fresh crisp air, and when i think of mexico i think of laundry detergent (don't ask), germany smells like this one specific tree that i think is in the beer gardens. when i smell it, germany jumps out at me-pop.
when i lived here, my mom and tom and the grandparents visited one september. i came back from work and i opened the door of my apartment to a wall of the most mouth-watering meatloaf smell. it encompassed me and i nearly fell over. home.
there needs to be a way to capture these smells and keep them in a jar for necessary moments. when you need a little mom tlc you just crack open the meatloaf jar; when it's dark and depressing, you need your favorite beach in hawaii - you know? i know they have apple pie candles, but i'm talking personal real life smells. until then, i'll just go around like a looney-tune deeply sniffing everything to take it all in, every morsel. the pictures are of my fav florist at the viktualienmarkt (city market). it smells heavenly.


oh yeah, that reminds me of the shack once again. (which i finished and definitely recommend. and we're 4 for 4 of houses i've stayed in with this very book. quite the phenomenon.) they refer to seeing things as god/jesus/holy spirit see them in full color and then they bring up a good point - imagine if you could also feel, hear, and smell heaven. i like to think about that. that's a new one for me. i like that god's world is living and 3D and there are many ways to experience it. what would that smell like for you all?

without a hitch

can i just say how impressed and thankful i am that this whole trip has gone off so easily? i've never been so free and mobile all on my own and it's therapy at it's finest. since i've lived here there is no pressure to do all these things that i normally would try to squeeze in (addictionary.com refers to this as sightsee sick, of which i can be known to fall prey to). i don't care if i'm wasting an entire day of prague to just sit with barb in the apartment and watch movies or blog. it's so restful. maybe i'll learn the art of sitting and just being. can i bring this euro-rest back home with me? i remember this feeling of just walking around munich when i lived here or going to a cafe all by myself and loving it. i would lay by starnberg lake for hours - reading or preparing for a yl thing or writing thank you letters, or not. it's so different here. it's not so fast paced and it's good. there's more relationship time. like college. remember that? when you would just hang out and not have anywhere else or four other parties you were supposed to go to? when you would slumber party and wake up whenever you felt like it and then grab some breakfast? that's what i'm talking about. that's how i am meant to live. also, i remembered that i am not a morning person so much. i love the nightlife baby.
this is a nice reminder of some things god brought about in me while i lived here.

ssshhhh! don't tell anyone but a nice ego boost is that everyone is unashamedly trying to recruit me to move back. i will admit that part of me comes alive over here. but that's all just for the prayer request list for now. who knows what god will do. for now, he's redeeming me and possibly helping me to forgive myself for beating myself up so bad while i lived here. bring it.

my picnic in munich one fine evening

just a few thing i picked up from the market for dinner - bread, salami, turkish basil creme, figs, and spiced nuts

the shack

has anyone read it?

beautiful timing for this trip. it's all about redemption. one of my personal favorite verbs.

god is here today. i need to stop looking for him in the past or figuring out the future. he's here and i am leaning into that today. here. redeeming me and both my time here and using it for His purpose.

i also really like how books coincide with my life or my trips or even crazy specifics going on while i am reading. while on this trip, several of the houses i have stayed at have this very book in it. i hadn't heard of it before and now i'm surrounded by it. huh...

the trifecta

salty cured meats

really fresh creamy cheese

killer bread

now you know why i heart european food

all my innermost secrets are laid bare before you

baby powder.

a traveler's best friend. it covers a multitude of sins.

and i will sing its praises evermore

hang on

how crazy fast and steep and long are thy escalators, o prague.

street performers

i may have written about this when i lived here, but i'll say it again - they make a city come alive.
who doesn't like live music outdoors? what a superb way to spend a day. barb and i sat by the st. charles bridge at a beer garden listening to this guy and when we emerged, it felt like the world had gone on around us and we were suspended in time. i love the power that music has. it is entrancing and other. i just don't get people who aren't moved by this.

p.s. if you noticed her water bottle tucked into her "cumberbun" then i like you.

which leads me to prague

everytime i told someone where i was going they ooohhhed and aaahhhhed over prague. it never failed. apparently everyone loves it. i am biased. i love my friend barb who lives there, so it's a no-brainer for me. her home is this magical land of art, literature, food, and culture and i am sucked in. we stay up late, we sleep in, we play trivia at the czechinn hostel, we cook, we watch movies, we thoroughly enjoy each other. it's genius. seriously, tell me these pictures don't look inviting and ready to host people at any given moment...

here's why i love barb:(origami in bed)

so, i decided to stay two days longer than "planned"
barb - you rule

stag party

these are my new british boyfriends. aren't they dreamy? i caught them mid-stag party all gussied up.

emo euro taryn

a proper stone

i'll probably gain a proper stone (~10 lbs.) on this trip. and that's okay by me.

so there's this dessert (aka pudding - i just rolled my eyes) called eve's pudding. good lord, people. i will be making this delight.

hurts so good. if loving this dessert is wrong, i don't wanna be right.

pudding = dessert

• and you don't use prepositions. it's not "our honeymoon" or "in the hospital", but "on honeymoon" and "in hospital".
• graham is two syllables
• your statements are followed by a two word sentence to summarize your point.

example: he's fine; that one.
or refer back to our customs officer. he's a smug one, isn't he?

• you're meant to do something, not supposed to
• the real deal = proper. as in "she had a proper mullet."
• it's never awesome, it's always brilliant.
• you don't go to college, you are in uni.
• you're not really _____, you're dead ______. ex: you're dead pretty. (i like that one)

for further research on this topic, read here.

the browns

phil + liz = love. and my they are wonderful. their house was a refuge to me for the next 4(?) days. it was exactly what the dr. ordered. i needed to just lay low for a while. for any of you that know me well, i am a verbal processor. i need people to talk to in order to know what i am thinking and feeling. so there's a lot of verbal vomit that happens when i get together with people. and it's good. and it makes me feel normal. it's a lot to revisit living in germany and all of those emotions, so i was plumb tuckered out.

i love houses that are a home. liz and phil have one of those in this little flat in hillingdon, uk. people are in and out of that little home constantly. it is so warm and cozy, so i just decided to stay longer. it's great to not really have anywhere to have to be, or any particular time to be up, so i just hung out. i talked and laughed and showered (or didn't), and watched movies, and slept, and really didn't leave the flat much. yay! easy, no pressure friendships. i even felt more at home there than i sometimes do in kc. that's strange.

and then, there's their church. i haven't been to church in months. i went on sunday with the browns and it was good. the church community is welcoming and intimate and real. people were singing and praising and crying and hugging. i couldn't pretend to be "good". it was humbling. and god penetrated my facade. i need people, i need them to ask me how i am. i need them to just sit with. i like to be known. this church made me feel that as a visitor. god bless it. i love the body of christ. god's smart.

give a shout out

to all the jane austen fans out there in the world. liz took me to winchester cathedral for the day. can i say again how very lovely the weather has been in england - day after day of sun and 70-ish degree weather.

i'll leave you with a few fitting quotes from the late ms. austen:

They are much to be pitied who have not been given a taste for nature early in life.

Nobody minds having what is too good for them.

Oh! do not attack me with your watch. A watch is always too fast or too slow. I cannot be dictated to by a watch.

One does not love a place the less for having suffered in it, unless it has been all suffering, nothing but suffering.

food eaten: one large, dense, traditional pasty. i gotta say, though, it was not my fav. they have a whole repertoire of pasties though. of particular interest to me was the spicy chickpea and potato; or curried parsnip; or west country pork, apple, and cornish cider. funny how we turn a workingman's sandwich into a more proper fandangled masterpiece. really, it's just a pasty.


a schoolchild playground rhyme from the 1940's:

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John,

ate a pasty five feet long,

Ate it once, ate it twice,

Oh my Lord, it's full of mice

dream come true

i bet you were hoping and praying that you could eat meat flavored potato chips. now you now longer have to wait until "one day..."
the wait is over:


plus, i've also seen prawn and roasted chicken flavors if that's more down your alley!

zsa zsa

fancy name for a fancy girl. she's my friend from yl staff as well. she showed us around her town of devon that she had been waxing poetic over ever since i first met her. i just had to see it for myself.

and she was right. it's a little tourist destination, given the name "heaven's waiting room" for all of the elderly residents. we did our best to avoid the masses by taking a teeny tiny road up to a little outdoor cafe and had yummy tomato (long a sound there - remember we're in england) soup with wholemeal and granary breads - those europeans know their bread.

did we stop there? no. it was then time for dessert. so back down the teensy weensy road with the teensy weensy cars to another cafe with a stunning view of the red cliffs. there i continued to eat my way through europe with a huge slice of lemon cake and coffee. it was hard to decide between the scones with clotted cream (which were the best i have ever had - my friends had some and gave me a bite or two), the ginger orange cake, the apple cake, or the cheesecake. i was pleased with my choice and then i felt entirely too full and quite happy.

customs

so um, customs in england - not to be taken lightly my friends. it's happened before and i remembered that as i was walking up to the counter, in other words, too late. when entering england you're gonna need some things 1. a name and address of where you're staying and 2. an exit date. without these, you can't enter. period. of which, i had neither. oopsie.

so after haggling with a very smug young customs officer (and i use haggling very loosely. really, i just smiled and answered his questions as politely as i could). which brings me to my next lesson learned: YOU CAN'T OUT-WIT A BRIT. don't even try it. especially if they are annoyed with all things american and you, an american, want to get into their country. i don't know if it's the accent or the patronizing questions, "you could call them now, couldn't you?" or "the blank is there for you to fill out, now isn't it?" or "if you're visiting a country, you should know the rules, shouldn't you?", or what but i don't recommend trying to enter without these crucial items.

btw - i did make it through after he called my friend and ripped her a new one.

england - here i come!

oh yeah, stonehenge...

...the biggest henge of them all...

kinda fun that we just happened to drive by this mysterious ancient attraction, because everyone always told me it's so far out of the way and for what? so, there you go. stonehenge was right off the highway. it's so weird how that happens. like michaelangelo's david being in some alley in italy. just there. by itself. no big whoop.

sara and steven

newlyweds. i am staying with three different newlyweds while in london. sara and steven are the first of them. i worked with sara while on yl staff and she remains on staff still with a new british hubby. it's so wonderful to see people's worlds and their people. steven is perfect for sara and it's so fun to watch and get to now be steven's friend as well. i like that.

sara and i hung out that night, made a yummy stir fry and i was a big girl and stayed up until 10:30. seriously, who am i? jet lag - please...

the next morning, we... scratch that, i mean the next afternoon. that's right, i slept for a solid 12 hours. it was awesome. so the next afternoon, we headed off to cambridge. (did i mention british boys are cute? well, they are.) in cambridge we punted. which is to say, a british university fella steered us around in a boat thingy whilst we lounged with some proper british ladies. (i LOVE people watching/eavesdropping). hilarious. they referred to oxford as "that other place".

there was more strolling, more sitting by the river and talking, and fish and chips enjoyed that day with my friend sara. lovely. and thank you.

a "common schoolboy error"

day 1 - frankfurt

i had to kill a day in frankfurt before flying to london. why? you ask. well, i got a stinkin good deal, that's why. so me in my jetlagged state had to walk around frankfurt for 9 hours alone with bags in hand. not so bad, actually. i was impressed with myself to be honest. i am a big girl now and i like coffee, so i think that helped. i never sat down too long - also helpful. and it was a gorgeous day. i bought a day ticket for the train and upon closer inspection noticed that i couldn't find frankfurt hahn airport on it. hmm, curious. so i got in line at the info desk along with 30 other stinky foreigners to ask how i can get to this airport to fly to london (note that it's a different one than i flew into, which was frankfurt main airport). oh, she says, frankfurt hahn is an hour and a half away by bus and that's 12 euros. lesson 1: FIND OUT WHAT YOU'RE DOING BEFORE YOU DO IT. oh, so i just wasted 9 euros on a train ticket. excellent. i don't need that one. so i just chalked it up to "that's what happens when traveling". "don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about it" my brain is telling me. so what do i do? just walk around. it's seriously unbelieveably remarkable weather and i'm in germany. and guess what? i remember my german!

there was a german mom sitting next to me on the plane over with her cute (and well-behaved) 1 year old girl and she spoke baby german the whole time to her. "auto, ja. da ist ein auto. gut" etc. etc. etc. while it sounds annoying, she was lovely and i believe she was my german language angel. it all came back in a flood. "oh yeah, 'du bist muede', i remember that." and, "moechten sie etwas mehr?" i got it, on and on and on. yay! so german it is (at least for today). i walked out of the train terminal and promptly purchased a nutella and pear crepe. god bless it. i was made for this.

i just meandered through the square and along the main river, sitting once (but not too long) for a capuccino, another time in the grass in the sun (had to get up and keep moving lest i fell asleep), and walked -in germany. there were german people leisurely strolling along the river, german bikers with their short shorts on, german scents filling the air, german, german, german. love it!

then on to frankfurt hahn airport, which i mentioned was an hour and a half away. sweet.

so, in review:

LESSON 1: FIND OUT WHAT YOU'RE DOING BEFORE YOU DO IT

LESSON 2: FRANKFURT HAHN AIRPORT IS NOT IN FRANKFURT. it's like telling someone to fly into kansas city's other airport in manhattan, ks.

money wasted: 9 euros.

food eaten: crepe, capuccino, schinken kaese bagel, apple, croissant with jam.

good day. guten tag.

german mannequins

the happy hands club

domo arigato, mr. roboto

something stinks

just yesterday i was getting ready and i smelled something ... off... i had just showered and i couldn't quite place it, although i have been traveling... and then it occurred to me that it could very well be my stitches or the bandaid. yes, friends, i am a genius and decided to stick my hand into an open can and slice the very skin that 12 years previous i got stitched up for doing THE EXACT SAME THING. this time, four things were different - 1. it was on work time, so i don't have to pay - bonus for workman's comp. (other than the sketchy guy in the waiting room yelling "i have to pee in a cup! pee - you know, in a cup" over over again on the phone at the place) 2. i sliced it good and proper and now have nerve damage in my finger so that when i shake hands i am the one giving the lame dead fish handshake and wincing when others go in for the kill. 3. there's no cute boy to hold my hand and dote on me. and 4. i wasn't going to europe for 3 weeks immediately following the accident - bad, bad, bad timing.

yup - surprise! i'm in europe again. this time it's only for a trip. seeing friends and places i have missed for two whole years now. and i'm gonna invite you to join me and my day to day experiences here. the plan is london, prague, then munich. the sad part is that i didn't bring my camera cord to show pics, that will just have to come later.

can i give a shout out to my lovely friend, nicole, who packed me and my bags up right? if anyone has seen the movie french kiss and noticed that meg ryan has on the same outfit every day, just mixed and matched, that is what i am talking about. she's a genius, people. i, taryn dawn glidewell, despise packing and nicole did me up right. minimal clothing and maximum style. score.

hello yummy food, way too much time with great friends, lots and lots of walking around really old buildings and streets, sitting in cafes and chatting, and people watching. goodbye personal space, work, and the same ol' same ol'.

oh, and the stitches will be coming out in munich...