The Life Aquatic in Germany: Volume 1

One thing about me that most people don't know these days is that I love to swim. I adore it. I used to spend entire summers smelling like lake water,  with sun-dyed hair and an effortless tan, sand falling off my body into other people's cars and bathrooms.* I grew up in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin - a place that was much more idyllic than I ever appreciated growing up. Here's a picture of me in my former natural habitat:

Swimming in Geneva Lake, circa 2008. 

Sadly, it has been ages since I've been able to appreciate the joys of swimming in fresh water. In Korea I have access to many ocean beaches. But the ocean will never compete with a lake for me at the best of times (large waves, rip-tides, potential for larger fish, jellyfish). And Korean beaches are not always the best of times. Though I'm grateful to be able to access so many beaches by public transportation, they are often plagued by pollution, crowds and noise. Unless you're from a very large city, please now multiply your definition of "crowds and noise" by 4. Koreans seem totally fine with beaches replete with loudspeaker announcements and blaring pop music (sometimes blaring different music on several different speakers simultaneously.) Hence, though I do go swimming a few times a summer, it's really really not the same.

This is, no lie, a standard summer crowd at Haeundae Beach in Busan, South Korea. Other beaches in the area have also become steadily more crowded over the past years. 

Enter Germany - land of lake dreams. Almost as soon as I started researching Germany, I started coming across various lakes (or "See" in German). Looking more deeply, I found one of my first candidates for my Germanic lake idyll just a quick trip outside of Munich: Lake Starnberg. http://www.munich-touristinfo.de/Lake-Starnberg.htm
http://www.onesprime.de/englisch/235-english/articles/45276-copy-of-starnberger-see.html

I was struck immediately by its similar appearance to my hometown lake. It has the same clarity, there is also a boat tour, you can (similarly) walk/bike around the shore, and the depth and the diameter (while a bit smaller) are not too much different. Apparently it is much colder than what I'm used to, but having swum in some pretty cold swimming holes in Washington and Oregon I think I can take it. A search on Airbnb, moreover, revealed quite a few reasonable vacation rentals right along its shores. Here is a German news article with a great photo of swimming and sailing: http://www.merkur-online.de/service/service-navigator/badeseen/badeseen-special-starnberger-see-westufer-841865.html

Wikipedia Creative Commons photo of Starnberg See.

This is not the only lake (or the only swimming) that Germany has to offer, however. Bavaria seems to be full of lakes to either swim in or boat on, including the gorgeous Königsee, which allegedly is too cold to swim in, though I did find this photo (and photo series) on flickr that prove some do swim and enjoy: https://www.flickr.com/photos/visbeek/4882633743/

And in Munich itself, people swim (and even surf (!)) in sections of the river and apparently skinny-dipping is legal. All of this adds up to an assumption on my part that my husband Lee might have a difficult time getting me back on the plane come the end of our trip next summer...

I'll likely be posting more entries about my search for the perfect German lake, hence, Volume 1. Stay Tuned!

*My father, in fact, had a favorite joke he used to tell my brother and I that went like this: "I heard they're running out of sand at the beach!" (waits a moment for us to say "Oh?") Replies: "Your sister has been bringing it all home to our bathroom!" He never got tired of that one!  

Bastille Day

I missed posting about Bastille Day yesterday (possibly if you're reading from the U.S. it's still your today), but my original intention was to be in Paris yesterday with my brother, celebrating Bastille Day together on July 14, 2014. This will have to go in the life column of "no time for regrets."

My brother and I originally talked about going to Europe over a year ago and I basically promised him that it was going to happen. I still feel bad about breaking that promise. I know that it's at least possible that had I saved more money, been more careful, planned better, I might have been able to afford at least a short trip this summer. It wouldn't have necessarily been the best idea between trying to pay off student loan debt and attending an (albeit inexpensive) grad program in Teaching English as a Second Language, but I still do regret it. My whole life my brother has been one of my closest friends, and in not being there with him this summer, I feel like I've let him down.

I'm sure he's not too sad, though, since he is there on a honeymoon now with his new wife, who is from Portugal. Strangely, when my brother and I had our initial conversation about going to Europe, it was just going to be the two of us. Marrying a European wasn't even in the equation at the time. It seems, then, like it was my brother's fate to end up there this summer, traveling around and now also meeting his wife's family. I hope he will have a wonderful time. I only wish I was there to enjoy some of it with him.

I've sort of strayed from my original topic of Bastille Day, but this is what's more on my mind, I guess - regrets - and hope that I can do better this year, so that next year will see a happier Bastille Day post.

With that said, here's a very short article about France's Bastille Day traditions. More inspiration to help me on my way, and maybe you on yours.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/14/france-bastille-day-facts_n_5479270.html

Places I Will Go: Du Pain et Des Idees Boulangerie

Some of the posts on this blog will be reminders of places I want to make sure to visit while I'm in Europe. Here's the first of these - Du Pain et Des Idees Boulangerie. I discovered this bakery via a Buzzfeed article of all things - http://www.buzzfeed.com/candacelowry/bakeries-around-the-world-you-should-visit-before-you-die  and was attracted both by the bakery's fanciful name and by one of its products, the Green Tea Matcha Croissant. I am a huge fan of green tea products and the croissant, so this is a match(a) made in heaven for me. (no apologies for the bad pun.)

I really hope this still exists by the time I get to Paris!

Here's a link to the bakery, so you can feast your eyes on its many exciting products and salivate along with me: http://dupainetdesidees.com/produits.html

Movies About or Around Europe: "2 Days in Paris", "Le Week-End"

As part of my pre-Europe research, preparation and inspiration, I've decided to start watching more films set in, filmed in, or themed around European countries, whether in English or foreign languages. In the last week or so I watched two movies which could  more or less function as a double feature of dysfunctional love in Paris: "2 Days in Paris" and "Le Week-End".

Both films are about couples who are having some relationship problems spending a couple days in Paris and facing a moment where they have to decide whether to stick together or break up.

"Le Week-End"

I watched "Le Week-End" first, and I'll just say - it's kind of depressing. I can say this without even giving away the ending, because you'd have to be cinematically tone-deaf to expect a picture perfect Hollywood ending out of this story. It's not unremittingly bleak, but if you saw "Before Midnight" and thought that was depressing, this is more like "Before 3:30 a.m." time-wise. Things get darker before the dawn. The couple in the movie, Meg and Nick, are played by Lindsay Duncan and Jim Broadbent and they're facing such problems as unemployment, disagreements over their son, and the lack of a sex life. Their trip gets off to a bumpy start as the couple seem to have very different opinions about how to travel well. Paris, rather than a site for romance, becomes a site for bickering and soon a site for despair and breakdown. Eventually a third figure, an old student of Nick's played by Jeff Goldblum, enters the scene. His appearance is a relief, if only because you want to spend time with someone who isn't so completely unhappy. I won't give away the ending except to say that it's all complicated, and you eventually do see what drew this couple together as well as the forces that are breaking them apart. This doesn't necessarily mean, however, that you yourself would particularly fancy being married to either one of them. Still, it's an interesting and complex character study of a long-term marriage. And it's a reminder that wherever you go, you take your problems with you. Choose your travel partners well.

The less-than-happy couple of "Le Week-End."

"2 Days in Paris"

"2 Days in Paris" is a considerably more upbeat story written by, directed by and starring Julie Delpy of the aforementioned "Before Midnight." Funnily enough, if "Le Week-End" could have been "Before 3:30 a.m.", this movie could serve well as "Before 10 p.m." Delpy and her co-star, Adam Goldberg, play Marion and Jack - a couple who have been together for 2 years and function like a pretty average couple at that landmark. They're comfortable together - comfortable enough to fight - but they still have a lot to surprise each other with, and they haven't sustained the deep hurts that sometimes come with marriage, children and more time. Hence, the movie dips into darkness, but never too far. Between the witty dialogue and the offbeat cast of supporting characters - including Delpy's own parents playing her very strange but loveable parents - the tone of this movie is decidedly comedic.

Marion's mother (Marie Pillet - Delpy's real-life mother) breaks down after Marion gets angry at her for fattening up her cat, Jean-Luc on foie-gras. Delpy's parents' performances were one of the real joys of watching this film.

It should also be said that one gets the feeling that Julie Delpy's contributions to the Richard Linklater  trilogy (so far) of "Before Sunrise", "Before Sunset" and "Before Midnight" must be considerable, since her dialogue is very similar, but not in any way derivative or lesser. If anything, Delpy's dialogue is snappier and more realistic than the sometimes belabored long political or philosophical digressions of the Linklater films. That said, there's certainly a place for both films in the world. It's not as if there's a glut of films heavy on dialogue and character these days. Let me just add, in singing Delpy's praises, that she somehow managed to make a scene where a self-proclaimed "fairy" (as in the mystical kind) has a heart-to-heart conversation with Jack in a fast food restaurant seem realistic, funny and necessary. That's saying something.

In terms of a Paris inspiration this film was more effective than the removed and luxurious milieu of "Le Week-End." This was a Paris for real Parisians, with trips to the market, encounters with ex-boyfriends at parties and art galleries, bizarro taxi drivers, and appreciating the simple pleasures such as a celebratory day devoted to street musicians.  Hearing French spoken by natives was also a great feature of this film. I was reminded of the proper use of "Genial" and "on y va." For what it's worth I also learned some useful sexting phrases.

Overall, this film is a celebration of real love and real Paris, not the manufactured variety of either. The more I think about it and remember its simple charms, the more I love it.

Marion and Jack fighting near the Seine.

Duolingo

A big part of my recent drive to travel to Europe has been my renewed interest in European languages. About two years ago, working my first year at a university in Korea, with more time off on my hands than I'd had since moving to Korea in 2009, a friend told me about Duolingo https://www.duolingo.com/, a language-learning site where you could study French, Spanish or German. (These days you can also study Italian and Portuguese and they are working on several other European languages, including Dutch and Russian). All the unstructured time on my hands was contributing to a severe bout of depression, but the site was so cleverly designed to compartmentalize and reward language learning that studying on duolingo quickly became my main free time activity.

I found, too, that the French and Spanish returned easily. One day, to test the efficacy of the site for learners who were new to a language, I also decided to try German and quickly fell in love with its sounds. Now I'm studying all three languages, with a focus on French and German. I have dabbled in Italian and Portuguese as well, but I've found that three languages is quite enough to be studying at once.

All this study really revved up my desire to go to France, but it also created a desire to go to Germany and Austria when I really hadn't considered those countries much previously. Finding that I could learn the rudiments of German, however, made me want to go to the country and practice and grow my language skills. I also began to look into the sites of Germany and Austria and soon realized that there was a lot more I wanted to see beyond "The Sound of Music" tour and Neuschwanstein. Now Germany and Austria are in my top 3 countries to visit alongside France. If I can only visit three on my first journey, those will be the choices.

I strongly recommend duolingo for anyone wanting to pick up or brush up on their language skills. It's not a perfect site. I'm finding as my studying deepens that the French lessons may occasionally get something wrong. (For example, watching a Rick Steves lecture recently I learned that if you ask for "le menu" in France, you are apt to receive an order called "le menu" rather than seeing your options. You'd better ask for "la carte.") Also, I'm pretty sure  from my limited investigation that the "idioms" section is not an actual set of French idioms, but perhaps a direct translation of American idioms that may or may not make any sense to French people. However, in terms of pronunciation and learning basic vocabulary, as well as access to a community of other learners offering advice, it's a great site and I like it much better than something like memrise.

For the past 23 days I've been studying both French and German (and sometimes Spanish) each and every day. Sometimes it's for as little as 5 minutes, but other days I study for an hour or more. I've also added in reading out loud in French (with much recourse to the dictionary.) I'm waiting til the 30-day mark, but at that point I may try to organize a little French club in town, or maybe a "European languages club", since I'd be happy to practice German or Spanish as well. Sometimes I feel a little guilty, since my Korean is almost non-existent. However, we may not stay in Korea too much longer, and I think that by the time I'd achieve something like an intermediate level it would likely be time to leave. Therefore, I'm studying for my future and for my dream of one day living in Europe. If we keep up with our European languages, we'll be good to go when we arrive.

The Dream/le rêve/el sueño/der Traum

Ever since I can remember I've wanted to travel to or live in Europe. Yet I am 37 years old, and I have never been. Last year I set the intention of traveling to Europe this year, and yet somehow I couldn't save the money. This blog is my promise to myself that I will be standing in Europe by July of next year, 2015, with or without companions, to experience for the first time what I have longed for my whole life.

I'm not sure what caused such a deep desire to visit Europe, but it probably sprung from my mom, who spoke of her time in Europe (a brief stint abroad during college) with deep reverence. I think, judging from how she spoke about it, that it was probably the highlight of her life. She never returned to Europe, and I sensed that she was sad about it, regretful. Mom may not have returned to Europe, but she raised me with an appreciation for arts and culture, with a longing to see the origin of so much of what I appreciated at home in art books and literature.  She told me about Florence and we watched "A Room with a View" together. She showed me the works of Monet, Renoir, and Degas. We went to Bastille Days in Milwaukee. We watched foreign films together. She dreamed of returning and I dreamed of going in the first place.

This book was doubtless one of my early influences urging me towards Europe. It was one of my 2 or 3 favorite storybooks as a child.

In the 6th grade I started studying French, and by the 10th grade I was studying French and Spanish. I was great at languages and took home the prizes for both from my school. Then I made the ridiculous decision to attend a university without a regular language program, and during my first run at college my ability began to wither away. Also during college, I developed severe depression and my mother died in a car accident (in that order). Europe, far from being in the front of my mind, moved all the way to the back.

It wasn't until years later, during my second run at university, that the idea of Europe began to call to me again, when I started studying Spanish at my second university - a less esteemed public university, which nevertheless offered much better language programs. I also began to feel hope for my future again. Finally able to study and take care of myself well after years of just getting by, I started to hope for more. I was still way too broke to travel anywhere, let alone Europe, but I was well enough to want it. Yet I never explored a study abroad - partly due to my grumpy cat, partly due to the boy I was dating at the time (now my husband), partly due to believing it was out of my financial range.

Fast-forward to now. I am married. I live in South Korea. I have somehow still never been to Europe. The money that you could once make teaching English in Korea or Japan has diminished quite a bit, so that I'm making about what I made as a nanny back in Portland, though the cost of living is somewhat less. However, student loans, debts and living expenses swallow most of my income. Going to Europe is still a sizable undertaking requiring careful budgeting and forethought.

Which brings me to this blog. I don't know if recording this year of planning, scheming and dreaming will be the difference that I need to make it work this time, but it can't really hurt. This is the place for my dreams to grow.

Europe, 2015, here I come.