!Yo Diggity!

Well, this vacation I’ve been on for two weeks has truly been vacation. There are no beaches in Indiana, no old cities or new places to explore… but there are a few of my favorite things….

There is my new niece Emma, for one thing. She started to smile while I was there, which for a baby who doesn’t do much but eat, sleep and poo, this was a glorious thing!

One of the great things about Emma is just watching her facial expressions and trying to guess what in the world she may be thinking. This shot, for example, I think she is either greatly concerned about where she is about to go or else she is trying to poo and there is some belt of some kind that is oddly in the way.

Emma wasn’t the only baby I got to see. It was also my first time to see little Jayden Heckaman. Jayden is my friend Amanda’s 8 month old boy. CUTIE!!

Then there is 4, almost 5 year-old Tyler (Amanda’s first son). He’s a little firecracker!!

It was fun to see the little Heckaman family, Adam, Amanda, Tyler and Jayden. (Yes, Tyler is missing from this picture).

Of course, Amanda and I got to be our old, weird selves… err… at least, I did.

I got to see the Martin kid’s too:

And Debbie and I were overjoyed as we got to treat ourselves to the spa!

This was all up in Amish country. For those of you who do not know Indiana (maybe some of the Europeans who’s US knowledge hasn’t yet extended to the great state of Indiana YET), Indiana is known to be Amish country. Here’s an excerpt from Wikipedia:

The Amish are an Anabaptist Christian denomination in the United States and Canada (Ontario and Manitoba) that are known for their plain dress and limited use of modern conveniences such as automobiles and electricity. The Amish separate themselves from mainstream society for religious reasons: they do not join the military, they draw no Social Security, nor do they accept any form of financial assistance from the government, and many avoid insurance.

Most speak a German dialect known as Pennsylvania Dutch (or Pennsylvania German) at home and in church services, and learn English in school. The Amish are divided into separate fellowships consisting of geographical districts or congregations. Each district is fully independent and has its own Ordnung, or set of unwritten rules.

I even snapped a shot of a horse drawn carriage I drove past while I was there:

So far, soooooooo good on my trip home. We’ve even had some nice weather to boot. Only a couple more days left of ‘vacationing’!!

Meet Paul. Paul is a friend of mine from Houston who I met when I was running on the track & field team for my company. He is also an expat but he’s living in Aberdeen, Scotland just now. He doesn’t always look so spooky…

… but we had decided to meet up in Berlin, Germany and we were standing in the Jewish memorial. It was a bit spooky in there… and spooky to think that so many people died under the National Socialist reign of terror.

Paul and I picked Berlin for really no reason in particular. We wanted to see a place we hadn’t seen before and something that would be good to see when it’s not so cold out. So we picked Berlin! There was lots to do and see there…

Museums…

Bradenberg Gate - at Christmas time…

The line between East and West…

Checkpoint Charlie…

It was really a bit depressing to think about all that had gone on here. There was memoribilia everywhere. Something you’d think people would want to forget… and at the same time… to remember those that were lost.

The wall… well… what is left of it…

On the lighter side, Berlin had some brighter things to offer: Shopping!

We even got to see Santa Claus!! That guy is sooooo cool…

And the Christmas trees and Christmas markets there were just soooo beautiful!!

Some of them even had ice-skating!

One of the coolest, and most random things we ran across was this art gallery/bar/theater/hang out place. We were just walking around one evening and completely randomly ran across this place that looked almost like a dump… but with charm.

We poked our noses inside and found that there was some really cool street graffiti that COVERED the walls of this place.

After winding up the staircase of the place, we found an art gallery.

And at the very top of the stairs, there was a real chill place. Complete with heaters ‘cause it was open air and it was COLD! This place did not quite fit the ‘image’ it was trying to throw, definitely not a dump!!

Here’s a shot of a VERY German meal that we had. Don’t ask me what that meat is… ham loaf?? I thought that was only an Indiana thing? heehee

We also saw random other things there. For example, here’s how you transport a Christmas tree when you don’t have a car: use a baby stroller! Who cares about the baby!! Those Germans, they are so bright!

My favorite beer of the trip was the banana beer. Almost like a shake it was so think and soooo banana-y! Yum!

Was all in all a great trip! Thanks for meeting me, Paul! Cheers!!

So one of my Hungarian colleagues is currently in Houston for some work. I asked him how it was going there and this was his response:

well, it’s really cool. I’ve learnt a lot about life here. actually, I have already driven through most of the state.
Saturday: HOU -> San Antonio -> Corpus Christi -> HOU
Sunday: HOU -> Dallas -> Plano -> HOU
next weekend: going towards East

what I recognize is that people around are really kind and willing to help if you lose your way for example.
unusual, yet funny that they either call you baby or brother (depending on their sex) ))

I have taken lotsa photos and videos so we better check ‘em out once I’m back home…

csá csumi csá!

It is true.. and pretty weird if you think about it. Ahh, we do learn so much from Foreigners. Watch out for this guy on the freeways there!!