die Ferien bei Familie

9am Christmas Day: wach und bereit. Eva's mom was the only one awake and we sat in the kitchen having a nice catch-up chat over Irish tea and milk. i must have woken Eva up when i crawled out of bed, because she joined us shortly after. tell me this not the best smile to see on a Christmas morning!

[Eva früh an Weihnachten]

the McElligott lowdown: Jim is a first generation American-born Irish that went to Ireland to study and met Jacinta. they eventually made their way back to the States and had seven kids. Eva's the true middle child, and will always be my favourite. =) we met in high school and would regularly visit each other in undergrad; especially after her parents moved back to Ireland with the youngest two, Keith and Liah. her unique blend of smarts, fun and hard work with heavily seasoned wit has been close to my heart for over a decade now.

[St. Stephen's Green]

on Boxing Day we headed into Dublin to make use of newly acquired TopShop giftcards. unfortunately, we found that Trinity would be closed until the day i was scheduled to leave. no Book of Kells for me. =(

the next couple days, it just kept snowing. we attempted driving, but after a few miles of sliding all over the road, we opted to go back home and walk to the Vartry. that in itself was still a tough task and because of all the ice, we took about three times as long to walk just 100m.

[Jimmy, Keith and Eva gegen 4 od. 5h]

i think my average bedtime in Ireland was 6am. i didn't even sleep in as much as the others! for all the nights we were stuck in the house, there was plenty of beer to entertain ourselves. just as the mood would get mellow in the wee hours, the guitars would come out and we would be up for a few more hours singing and drinking. then someone would suggest a fry and we would be eating breakfast at the normal time and THEN going to bed.

New Year's was a blast. we had an epic snow fight with at least three generations of McElligotts. wish i had my camera, but i got to be neck deep in the mayhem. the house had six sizable bedrooms, but there were still no free sofas, chairs or warm spots by the fire! Eva and i walked with Deirdre and her mom, Geraldine, back to their house for beds and blankets. somehow we missed the boys coming later (we got there around 4 or 5am) and could not stir Kevin in the morning to catch a ride back to Roundwood. can't blame him, though. he hadn't had an actual bed for over a week at that point.

[Glendalough]

eventually, i said 'screw the snow' and planned to go to Sally Gap. everyone was down for it the day before, but no one woke up the next day. Kevin (the next younger than Eva) took Celtic out for a walk with me around Roundwood, trying to give the others time to crawl out of bed. still not a soul. the roads were still bad as well, so no Sally Gap, but at Glendalough we had a nice four hour chat as we walked and i took photos. towards the end, it started snowing hard again, so we turned to get back to a pub and have a few beers. Eva's dad came to pick us up, one more round and then we were back home.

[typische Sammelung von Mäntel und Schuhe, mit der Katze Fae]

back to the recurring theme about 'home,' the McElligotts are the alter ego of my family and i love them for it. i wouldn't be complete without them. wish i was better showing that in my photos. much much thanks for sharing everything with me, then a holla to Mom and Dad: glad you find the 'holidays' as insignificant as i do, and i will see you soon. XOXO to everyone and Happy New Year!

Interludium vor Irland

continuation: more ICE action. puh, trains rides are nothing after last night. =) i was fairly early for the flight, possibly out of fear that i would attract more abnormal happenings. it crosses my mind for a split second, what it would be like in Ireland speaking English with family. again, a dash of fear.

as i wait to get my boarding pass, there are several English speaking people conversing around me. i clam up and make no effort to talk. we are waiting in line and an Irish man behind me is very agitated and is bitching about a woman in front Chatty Cathy-ing her bullshit all over the poor attendant. she is quite hideous; an older woman (and not with a good body) wearing a 20something's clothes. that in itself was bad enough that i shied away from the negative attitude of the Irish man. after a few minutes i feel like a complete zombie from the mixture of lack-of-sleep, waiting in line and completely not being myself by being so silent around people i can actually talk to. fuck it. he's still ranting about her and fidgeting all over the place. i open my mouth. "as if she didn't LOOK bad enough already." insert a few awkward steps and then the basic introductions. welcome my new friend, Frank.

who's Chatty Cathy now? i was still pretty reserved. i had no idea what to think of all this. i enjoyed all the conversations i had on the road trip this summer, but in this moment, i had a lot of fear that i would be throwing away my German experience and going back to old habits; just being the same person, with no personal development. fuck it. lose yourself in your typical blur of being interested in everything, Sabrina.

Frank had just moved into Frankfurt at the beginning of December. he was an older dude, so plenty of life experience, which i always love interacting with. there was really too much to remember, as the conversation bounced around like a ferret on crack. i threw in my two cents here and there, but just went with his flow for the most part.

i was hoping to get a Döner or something, but that's typical of a train station, not an airport, and the only thing open by our gate was Burger King and the line was around the corner. still, we found a table to sit at and Frank offered me a ham sandwich that he was not going to eat. perfect. the only thing missing was a beer to help me cope with shock of so much English.

an hour or so later, i give him a business card and we go about our separate ways on the plane. omg, so... much... English! i clung on to snippets of German i could manage to hear, but to no avail. somewhere in the ride, i started talking to a military man and an Irish dude about my age. i think that somewhere in the mess i was missing hearing my parents and their Army talk, while at the same time wondering when Jonathen was getting back from Iraq and when Martin was going and if my dad would really catch a cargo flight over and why my mom never hinted at doing the same, etc.

somewhere in the middle of our conversation, a flight attendant comes up and asks me if i have a friend on the front row. what the fuck do i say? "uh, yeah, uh, i know someone in first class?" the attendant had a funny look on his face as he hands me a bottle of champagne with a plastic cup and a scrap of paper with a note scribbled on it. the dudes get funny looks on their faces and then (sure that the surprise on my face is the funniest of them all) i chuckle, stick the note in my pocket and open the bottle.

why the hell do i sometimes feel that i am a normal, boring person?

the military man and the Irish dude were fun. for the umpteenth millionth time i have to explain my family in Ireland in relation to me and Eva going to high school together and me studying abroad. it's like a taped recording by now, but at least the Irish dude knew exactly where Roundwood is and was tickled that i was going there. there was an announcement that the plane was about to land. i was given half the leftovers of a strong cider/whiskey mixture. we toasted to Christmas Eve and then went through the mess of lines in Customs.

needless to say, i had a bit of buzz. i grew anxious waiting for Eva since it was my first time in a while relying on other people. no worries. she and Liah showed up big grins and many hugs. oh my, sometimes i forget that Liah was only 5 years old when i first met her and now her driver's license is in the mail! i recapped my insanely long day and the randomness of the plane ride and Eva just smiled and said, "We're meeting the family at a pub."

insert a blur of neverending introductions similar to being an exchange student in Germany. wow. me and Deirdre were so excited about finally seeing each other in person. it was delightful to see Sarah Louise again. Kevin was his same drunken self. Keith, oh dear. the pub was packed. i have no idea how many pints of Guinness i drank. father/son clash on the car ride home. memories of the house on the river, bonfires, Jacinta's cooking, a herd of golden retrievers, late night singing, four people to a bed... what a wonderful end to a crazy day. after 45 minutes into the country, i plopped myself into bed and passed the fuck out!

Kuckuck aus Köln

i have a habit of always saying 'Köln' instead of 'Cologne' and often forget that my English-speaking friends probably don't know what city i'm referring to. what can i say? es passiert.

Köln is quite amazing. my host Sigfried was quite nice, straight up tour guide with his description of the city. and, D was quite right about how you walk out of the train station directly in front of the cathedral. i arrived in the evening and promptly went through all of Sigfried's books to plan the next day.

i could have been sharper the next morning and noticed when all the people with luggage got off the Straßenbahn. oops. turned out okay, though. got off at the first stop on the other side of the river and walking across the bridge was my first experience of the day.

nobody told me about the padlocks! i mean, i've seen a few here and there, but never to this magnitude. apparently i never got the memo and it's quite common. made for some neat photos, for sure. i also enjoyed seeing the tracks from the former site of the Hohenzollern bridge. Köln was pretty heavily damaged in WWII, zB: the part of the cathedral that got replaced.

again, influx of history overwhelms my brain and i love every bit of it. now throw in a museum of Roman artifacts, the scandals of Agrippa and tile mosaics in their original place. oh my. the Römisch-Germanisches Museum was laid out VERY nicely. remember me complaining about the lighting at that museum in Straßbourg? this place was the exact opposite. the volume of the sculptures was perfectly defined, right down to tiny figurines, and just the atmosphere of the room with all the jewelry was amazing. oooh, i still get chills.

now sadly enough, that was the extent of my touristy ventures in Köln. so, i broke the heel of my boot shortly thereafter. i walked around the downtown area looking to buy a new pair of shoes. of course everything is super expensive and i was in no mood to spend money on something i'm not particularly fond of. i give up. i remember Garry walking around for several hours with wet sneakers and decide that i can deal with missing an inch or so on one leg. i walked to a couple more churches, but i had wasted a lot of daylight in the futile attempt at shoe shopping and they were all closed. just keep taking photos, baby. i go back to Sigfried's apartment hoping maybe he could point me in the direction of a Kaufland od. etwas. he was not home. i waited an hour and some, thought about places to go the next day and edited some photos. still not home. with enough time to myself, i thought: "why the fuck not go back to Tübingen? you have your hiking boots, which would have been the better choice anyway. dumb Sabrina. oh well, no going back on that one. it's kind of late. hm. do i leave a note for Sig? omg, how do i explain this auf Deutsch? fuck it, just go. i can write it in English. shit, i can't even explain it in English without it seeming completely odd. dude, it was your ONLY pair of shoes for Ireland. you have the time. okay, wtf just go. you are really weird, you know."

so, i lock the keys in the apartment and try to formulate a voicemail for Sigfried. it sounds horrible. oh well. i hop on the ICE to Stuttgart. my arrival overlapped THE last train to Tübingen by two minutes. two minutes! i am officially stuck in Stuttgart for five hours. oh well, shit happens. i know i'm crazy enough to handle a layover. but, it was pretty damn cold. i paid 50cents to use the bathroom in the train station because it was 2am and everything was closed. i sat on the toilet for a good 15minutes (because every place for sitting in the station was taken by other people) before i decided to battle my crazy thoughts with more craziness. there are night trains and what not. i was going to just ride the trains all night. i had a fucking railpass, why not fucking use it? it is only a few hours. trains are warm. i could sleep a bit if i wanted AND i don't have to pay to use the bathroom.

and so, i bought a coffee, sat on the floor, then got on the next train to München. i planned it out that i would make it back to Tü just in time for the first run of 22 back to my dorm. it was definitely a little surreal. oh well, not good to spend too much time re-living experiences. might as well make the most of the choices i made.

the apartment was clean, other than the typical Oliver dishes. i fixed some food, reorganized my things, enjoyed the view from the kitchen a little longer and then headed back to the Hbf. please note that the story continues directly to Ireland.

M-M-M-Maastricht

stop #3: Maastricht. since i was in the area, i was interested in seeing the city where a friend had studied the year before. shout out to Kristin and many apologies to D for not making it to Njimegen yet. though, i swear that i saw your friend Florian on the train between Heidelberg and Saarbrücken.

my host was awesome; older hippie dude studying neuroscience in the medical school. wow Kristin, didn't know what a big medical school they had there! Phil took me on a quick tour, we ate some fries at the Marktplatz and had a cup of coffee, and then some beer. and then some more. originally he was from Belgium, so my sampler from Brussels kept going.

eine schöne Stadt, stimmt. more Weihnachtsmarkt action. didn't feel like toting around more Glühwein mugs, though. i definitely enjoyed the idea of sharing some of the landmarks with Deanna and Kristen. it was almost as if i was visiting the actual people. well, i suppose i was at least visiting a memory of theirs. =)

my favourite spot was a cathedral turned into... a BOOKSTORE!! mmm, i've been reading a bit more since i arrived in Europe. something about the train rides and books. perfect match. reminds me of all the long car rides as a kid. in turn, also makes me miss my road trips. soon enough. i'll take the trains while i have them. can't wait to try a night train!

Phil was a great guy to talk with. he cooks like me, just throwing things together. i showed him how easy it was to make Glühwein and we had dinner on his kitchen floor. it is definitely a lot different when couchsurfing. i enjoy the company, but often get distracted from the city that i'm visiting. six and a half doz the other, though. i'm glad to get both in the same package!

kein Bezug in Brüssel

so, here is my first official couch surfing experience. i'm not one for expectations, but everything was as good as i had hoped. Garry was a great host. it was sooo nice to get out of the academic world. not only that, he's a cameraman for a public news station and we matched at a lot of points on my photojournalism side.

we started a non-tourist tour at a market. note: go when the farmers are closing up because they will practically give away vegetables. Garry bought about 2 kilos of mushroom for 3€. i was later an assistant in slicing them all and putting them in the freezer.

the snow kept coming. the streets were covered and all i had was slightly too big pair of boots with no traction. though Garry commented that Brussels was not usually so quiet, it added quite an element in the photos. i was prompted to come again during warmer weather.

the photos from the park across from the palace are my favourite. there is something about parks in urban areas that i enjoy. it is obviously a manufactured setting, but it speaks a lot about the city. insert conversation with Francesco about how fabricated things can say just as much, if not more, than being candid. somehow i think it is unfair to try and judge a person on characteristics that are often out of their control. why not appreciate what they willingly share?

enough crap. yeah, so my head was somewhere else in Brussels. Garry described me as mysterious, but i suppose that isn't the worst reference to have on my Couchsurfing profile. i think i really needed the break from classes. speaking so much English was very strange to me; caught me off guard, almost as if i forgot who i was. i was too used to being the dumb American in Germany.

despite me being spaced out and Garry sick from Copenhagen, i managed to try a bunch of Belgian beers and wonderful food, as well as sight-seeing. cheese with celery salt is a great partner with beer! i was also very keen on being in the heart of a city. there was an edgy feel that i was missing in Tübingen. a success for sure. it was great meeting new people, exchanging music and whatnot.

i will definitely be setting aside more time for travel. still a lot of places on my to-see list. liebe Grüße!

latenight Luxembourg

really, this and the last entry were in the same day. about that 'getting up early' nonsense: yeah, kinda stumbled upstairs around 4am and didn't wake up until noon. then i had to finish packing. time swept by and it was 5pm before i left Tübingen.

so, bought the rail-pass in Stuttgart and didn't leave there until 8pm. yup, that gets me arriving in Luxembourg at 2am. and i left the directions to the youth hostel in Tübingen. thank god for Google. i vaguely remembered what the map looked like and recognized a streetname when i hopped on a night bus with no clue where it was going. add in luck that the bus driver was younger, cute and spoke German.

[Umsteigen irgendwo in Saarbrucken und ohne ein Gebäude während es schneite]

there was something in the bus driver's attitude that pleased me, reminded me of working overnight at Sheetz. gotta love night owls. i didn't feel the slightest bit out of place wandering blindly late at night in a city that mainly spoke French. the snow added a nice touch. i got off the bus and walked under this massive stone bridge by lamplight down a cobblestone path.

[Brücke von der Eisenbahn]

after the solitude of traveling alone, i had my first shock by throwing myself into a youth hostel dormroom full of girls sound asleep. i didn't bother trying to dress the bed in the dark, just put on my sweatpants and crashed. in addition to being the last arriving, i was the first to wake up. breakfast started at 6am. i woke up at 6, took a shower and headed downstairs for food. came back upstairs, one girl was awake and the others were still asleep. i began to realize that this little excursion might not be average, sorted out my baggage and checked out at 9.

[der Alzette]

i leisurely took photos, but walked in the general direction of the train station (which was not the route of the bus the night before), planning to get a glimpse of the schedule and call my host from CouchSurfing before i tryed getting into touristy things.

turns out that i forgot how short winter days are. i told the host i would arrive in the afternoon, meaning while it was still daylight. to get to Belgium by then, i would have to take the 1pm train. i decided that i didn't have time to try finding certain attractions and set out from the train station just wandering.

[Avenue de la Liberté und Avenue de la Gare]

criticize the brevity of my visit to Luxembourg all you want. you might be surprised how much i managed to get out of it. Luxembourg has the beauty of France without being too frilly, plus a touch of Germany and being nestled in gentle hills. not quite as harsh and Pittsburgh. nestled in, not draped over. i am careful with my descriptions, mind you.

i really do wish i had more time there. it's all my fault, but i take it as my little glimpse that motivates me to return.

"put your hands up for Detroit!"

enter: end-of-class festivities. before spending Christmas with Eva, i planned a week-long loop through Luxembourg, België and de Nederland. i was supposed to leave the day after classes were done, but Gianluca and Francesco were having their birthday party that night and i couldn't bring myself to miss it. what's one day? i wouldn't stay late and leave Tü early the next morning.

i was watching Enchanted with Diana an hour or so before, when they showed up at my door and asked if i would photograph the night. wasn't really expecting that, so i explained that i couldn't do the entire night. no problem. finished the movie, was surprised i liked it, put on my flip-flops and headed downstairs with my camera and *gasp* my flash.

i was feeling a bit stiff, but the boys gave me free run of the alcohol in the fridge and i took a beer to loosen up. insert mayhem.

[typische Italiener]

when i got to the point i felt more than buzzed, i took my camera back to my room and finished my night free from managing expensive equipment. not too bad, despite being slightly drunk. i promise you that the only shots i took out were ones with ganz hässlich expressions on people's faces. i call it success. no shots of the ceiling. no horribly off-center crap. the auto-focus was a difficult from the lack of light and a few are out of focus, in addition to me not knowing jack shit about using adjusting a flash. but overall, not too bad. i definitely identified some areas i need to work on.

so, not studio portraits, but check out the album. it was fun.