The Pastafondue

KERWE TIME!!

2010-09-06T11:40:00.000+02:00

Just a farmer with his beer and goats

Sunday morning entertainment

When we settled into our new place, we were told by our neighbors that we shouldn't miss the Kerwe. The Kerwe is a traditional celebrations in little towns/villages in Germany. In my eyes, it seems to be just another great excuse to have the town gather for 4 days, continue traditions, oh, and drink and eat!
Our Kerwe began on Friday and continued on until Monday. Sunday's tradition included gathering at 10:00am for sausages, bretzels, and BEER! Many people come to the fest dressed in traditional clothing. Then the parade began.

Paraders

The parade winds thru town with tractors pulling the floats. Each club or organization sponsors a float, waves to the crowd, and throws candy at them. Once the parade is over, everyone gathers in the town square for a party. These parties flowed all day and well into the night.

Barb getting in the Spoon Groove

I'm not sure how some of these kids can go full steam the entire weekend. Our Kerwe was a great time, but sometimes you can only handle so much beer, shots, and Schlager music.

Till next year, or the next festival; whichever comes first.

Dear 2010, Is it too late to start blogging again?

2010-08-15T10:52:00.002+02:00

Boy, we are sure terrible at this thing called blogging. From this day forward, we will try to update weekly, we promise.

For now, go checkout other blogs you enjoy, this one is being updated.

Thank you,

~Pastafondue~

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

2009-12-20T18:48:00.012+01:00

It's that time of year again. That time when the weather changes for the worst, you have to wear layers of clothing to stay warm, and it's dark when you head to work and dark when you leave work! It's also the time of year for Glühwein and Christmas Markets! This year Barb had the chance to visit quite a few: Frankfurt, Mannheim, Worms, and Mainz. Although I think they're all the same, she thinks otherwise. They all sell fest food, they all have the same booths, and they all have Glühwein! For those that don't know, Glühwein is a concoction of red wine and spices, then heated up and drank! Some places are better than others, but all markets have tons of people gathered around the Glühwein stand! Ok, thinking about it, visiting the fests can be quite fun and gets you in the Christmas spirit!

2009 is coming to an end quickly. As I look back on the year, it was fun-filled and action-packed. Two big things happened this year; we got engaged and we had another exciting vacation. We enjoyed an amazing vacation in Uganda visiting the mountain gorillas and taking in numerous sites of the country.
As we look towards 2010, we'll be busy planning our wedding in Switzerland. We have a good start on the planning and hope the rest comes together smoothly. We'll also be making a trip to New York to visit my parents in the spring. It'll be a quick trip and hope to even scout a location for reception in NY. More to come on that in the new year.

From the two of us here in snowy Germany, we wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Wherever you are, we hope you have a wonderful holiday.

Blogging Faux Pas

2009-09-26T12:04:00.020+02:00

It's been awhile, almost 2 months to the day!, since we posted anything! We've been busy; going here and there, seeing this and that, and just taking time to relax. Here's just a little insight of what we've been doing..

The first weekend of Sept. we traveled to Berlin. We were there for Barb's Dad and Ulli's wedding! What we thought would be a rainy weekend, turned out to be a sunny day. After the ceremony, we enjoyed prosecco and lunch on a boat along the River Spree, taking in all the Berlin sights. The rest of the evening was filled with great times, flowing drinks, and a lot of dancing!

Besides the wedding, we got to take in some of the sites of Berlin. Berlin is becoming one of my liked cities. There's so much to see and do there. On this trip, we enjoyed a stroll along the Eastside Gallery. They are currently restoring much of the political graffiti on an existing piece of the Berlin Wall. What's ironic is that they are also re-building some of that same wall for tourist/historical purposes.

Checkout more Berlin Graffiti here.

We had some time to checkout the Holocaust Memorial, the DDR Museum, and even went to the top of the TV tower.

The following weekend, we headed to a Flugfest (air show) near Jettenbach. Miserable day for an air show, but we braved the early fall weather and enjoyed ourselves anyway. The air show was as cool as any local German aero club fest can get. They had a few planes on display, including helicopters, gliders, and a few build-it-yourself contraptions. Oh and of course, a few food booths and a beer stand. One thing to remember about Germany, it isn't really a fest without a beer stand!

So we went on a helicopter ride. It was me, Barb, and Chris enjoyed a nice ride overlooking the Pfalz, their house, and the rest of the landscape before touching back down.

We didn't get to ride any gliders, but that'll be next time. We were told by the friendly club-goers to just come by any weekend for a glider ride. We may just take them up on that offer...

Barb is now envisioning herself as a pilot.

We're ENGAGED!!!!

2009-07-24T21:05:00.012+02:00

Well, we met in 2000 for the first time. At that time we were just friends, for 5 years. Keeping in touch through my mom and occasionally we'd meet up in Switzerland at some hash event.

In 2005, I helped mom move to Germany. A got a call from Nick to meet him in Mannheim for a drink as friends. One thing led to the next, and we ended up the unexpected couple. Since then, I've moved up to Mannheim and we started a mellow and wonderful journey together!

A few weeks ago we decided to go to Munich for 4. July weekend, and to get out of town for a few days. We spent most of Saturday enjoying the yummy beer and food at the English Garden's Biergarten. It seemed strange to me that Nick wasn't eating much and was very quiet most of the time, I should have known. Sunday we spent the day at the Tollwood Festival at the Olympic Park. Sort of a "Hippie" thing; music, food and a great market! After meeting up with some friends we had a very romantic dinner at the hotel.

The next morning, we drove to the Andechs Kloster Brauerei (Old monastery/ brewery). I've always wanted to go there. Overlooking the Bavarian country side and a lovely view of the mountains, we had a nice fresh brew and some lunch.

Still, Nick was acting more and more strange...

We decide to go for a little walk before a long ride home. We enjoy the view at the view point.
I sat down while Nick took some pictures of the Alps.
The next thing I now he got very shaky and confessed his love for me. He pulled a little brown box out of his camera bag and kneeled down in front of me asking for my hand in marriage!

Of course I said YES!!!!
We fell into each others arms and stayed there for a long and very happy moment!

The drive home involved lots of phone calls and champagne......
The worst part, my Grandmother found out on Facebook!

Anyway, the planning has started and we have chosen a date, time and location.

More to come...

~Barbara~

We're Getting Married!

2009-07-16T17:48:00.007+02:00

So I've been thinking a lot lately about where our relationship was going, how great it is, and also when will Barb realize that dishes don't clean themselves? Or more importantly, can I get used to all the hair products that come with living with a hair stylist? Going on 4 years now together, I felt it was time to think about the pros and cons.

Barb and I started dating in 2005. It was Swiss Nash Hash, an annual Hash House Harriers event held in Switzerland. We originally met at the same event, back in 2000. I guess you can say the Hash House Harriers brought us together!

So we've been living together now for 3+ years. Through the years, we've built a great relationship. I think what keeps us together is the strong friendship and the fact that we have a lot in common. For one, we both enjoy traveling. Since we've been together, we traveled to 3 new continents and numerous countries. Each time, we learn something new about each other and our relationship grows stronger.

I realized she was the one. If I was ever gonna settle down, I want to with Barb. I decided I would propose to her in Uganda. But due to unforeseen technicalities, I would have to wait. It wasn't until we decided to go to Munich for the 4th of July weekend. We had a great time, as usual, but the weather wasn't on our side. So, on the drive home, we stopped at the Andechs Monastery for some delicious beer and lunch. After lunch, we walked around the grounds. We found a scenic outlook towards the town and mountains in the distant. Seeing this as the last opportunity of the weekend, I decided to go for it. On one knee, I told Barb how wonderful my life has been with her and how I want to spend the rest of my life with her. (in more words than that, but you get the point) I asked her to marry me and quickly she said,"YES"!

So the hard part is over (for me) and now it's time to plan a wedding. We decided to do the formal wedding in Switzerland. We found a beautiful scenic area and even a church. More to come on that...

I'm really happy to have found an amazing girl to marry and to continue enjoying life with. It's another chapter in my life and I'm looking forward to seeing what the future holds for us. So who cares if I have to do the dishes. The way I see it, having a wife as hair dresser doesn't just mean a bathroom full of hair products, it means FREE haircuts for life! And, knowing Barb, it means a wife with a totally new look every few weeks!

~eurodrifter~

Cosmetic Renovations on the Balcony

2009-06-28T17:11:00.022+02:00

Summer is finally here, well at least the last few days, and we've been talking and mulling over the idea of re-modeling the balcony. The "original" balcony, for those of you that didn't know, had a wood floor that squeaked and creaked with every step. If that wasn't bad enough, we've had an assortment of "friends" living under the floor including the birds and the bees.

Step 1. After moving everything we had on the balcony into the living room, we were able to dig in and uncover the floor, and what lurked beneath. Years of accumulated pine needles and leaves were packed underneath. We found a once bird's nest and even little bee hives.

Step 2. After lifting all the boards and sweeping up all the crud, Barb got to work mopping up the years of dirt and grime. Once she was done, things were looking good. And since Germany is so adamant about recycling, we now have a spare wood slat floor taking up precious space in the storage room. Anyone need some wood flooring?

Step 3. By now it's getting late in the day and still pretty hot. After a few colds drinks, it was ready to lay down the floor. Putting the floor together came easy due to those many years with Legos and building blocks; they just clip together. Luck was on our side since no cutting was needed and the tiles all lined up perfectly. In less time than it took to take up the floor, we now had a new one in place.

So there you have it. In a short period of time and quite a bit of sweat, we installed a clean-looking, non-squeaking balcony floor. Hopefully, now we can spend more time out on the balcony enjoying the few summer days Germany offers us.

* How many Ikea products can you spot on the balcony? Too many should be your answer!

A New Addition to the Family

2009-06-19T17:54:00.022+02:00

Proud new parents, Kristy and Joseph

I would like to congratulate my brother Joseph and his wife Kristy for bringing a beautiful baby girl into this world. Sophia Grace Ribaudo was born June 10, 2009. She weighed in at a healthy 8lbs 7oz (3830g). All went well for mother and baby and Sophia Grace is now home; loving her new room, I'm sure!
I give you Sophia Grace Ribaudo.

Top: Proud new grandparents again; Bottom: Joseph now has a little sister to play with

Meet the Gorillas

2009-06-01T16:29:00.004+02:00

After a lot of planning and saving, we arrived in Bwindi Impenetrable forest, Uganda; the home of the mountain gorilla. There are about 600 left of these magnificent animals and we are about to meet 6 of them, the Mubare family.
Once in the park, one group no more than 6 people spend one hour with each family per day.
After a short briefing by the UWA (Ugandan Wildlife Authority), we take off on our adventure with one guide, porters, and armed guards into the hills of Bwindi.
Finding the gorillas could take up to 5 hours, we got lucky! Tracking for an hour or so uphill, we finally meet the great mountain gorilla!!!
The first one we come across is a young one in the tree, the rest are just a few meters away.
We tremble through the high bushes and find the rest.

I meet Maraiyka as she's eating leaves sitting on a branch right in front of me.
The view is amazing! We keep following the family and end up back on the path. Three of them just sitting there eating. One of them has a 5 month old on her back. He's curious and checks us out. The only female of the family disappears quickly as she is very protective of her little one.
As I'm filming the entire scene, I hear a rustle in the bushes behind me. As I turn around, there is a juvenile gorilla behind me waiting for me to move out of the way. Since touching the animals isn't allowed, I had to restrain myself from reaching out to touch the youngster.
There is another one up on the hill right next to the path eating away on some yummy leaves, which is all they eat. Out of nowhere, the very lazy and large Ruhondeza appears; the 35 year old Silverback. He takes a few steps and sits down right in front of us as if he wanted to pose for the cameras. He's much bigger than I thought. Eventually he gets up and disappears into the forest.
It feels like only 5 minutes have gone by when the guide tells us to take our last photos, I can't believe one hour as already past.
It's not easy putting this experience into words. As we walk back down the mountain we come across a young boy and his family. The boy is carving little gorillas out of wood and staining the carvings with black ink. He is really talented!
We leave the forest and tears come to my eyes. It was so overwhelming, emotional and amazing.
I hope some day I'm lucky enough to go back, I would recommend it to anyone. One of the most amazing experiences of my life, so far...

-Barb

Vacations come...and vacations go

2009-05-30T17:15:00.009+02:00

We recently returned from an amazing vacation in Uganda! Uganda is an East African country which lies on the Equator. We arrived in Entebbe (Kampala Airport). After a few days getting used to the climate and change of pace, we ventured on a 6 day safari. This included visits to Lake Mburo, Bwindi, and Queen Elizabeth National Park. We also spent some time in Entebbe, Kampala, and Jinja- the source of the Nile River. The highlight of our trip was gorilla tracking in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. More to come on that...

So, we saw the gorillas, watched traditional Ugandan dance, and saw many animals in the wild. Uganda is a beautiful country with a diverse landscape. The people were very welcoming and certainly not a hassle like other African countries I've visited. We had a great time and look forward to more adventures in Africa, and maybe back to Uganda.

More photos can be found at my Flickr collection.

~ Nick

A New Beginning

2009-05-30T15:03:00.003+02:00

I going to try out this blog craze. It seems easier to update the website and we can post what's going on. So, we will try to update this at least monthly, if sooner. Perhaps, maybe.

Until then, please feel free to bookmark and return at a later time.

Thanks and have a great day.

~Nick