tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20887536110553873532024-03-05T05:08:37.366-08:00My Wanderings AbroadMandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17496045170487086097noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2088753611055387353.post-64923240112887106792013-01-08T04:00:00.000-08:002013-01-08T04:00:04.990-08:00Autumn HikeAs you can tell, I am getting caught up on photos. Back in the fall, Matt and I took our annual hike. Not that we have anything against hiking but I never quite think about it until the leaves start to change. Bulgarian fall-time mountain hikes were gorgeous (see below) so I figured we would give the Macedonian Mt. Vodno a shot.<br />
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Bulgarian Hike:<br />
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We started our day by driving halfway up the mountain to the gondola. We rode the (fairly fancy) gondola up to the top to the huge cross. You can then go up to the top of the 20 something story cross, but we opted against that. Instead, we walked around the top of the mountain taking in all of the different views. <br />
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On the Gondoloa!<br />
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Making our way to the top.<br />
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The HUGE cross.<br />
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Taking in the views. <br />
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Playing along with the photo shoot. <br />
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We then began our trek down. We decided to walk down the mountain to get a little exercise (plus we were kinda scared of the gondola..ha!) We originally started following the crowds down a paved path.<br />
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Then we decided to veer off the path, of course we chose the trail with the least amount of people.<br />
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This turned out to essentially be STRAIGHT DOWN HILL! Our legs were literally burning/shaking. At one point I wondered if we would make it to the bottom before nightfall. <br />
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On one of our brief breaks. After this, there we no more photos. Only concentration. We FINALLY made it to the car park about an hour later. We had sore legs for days. <br />
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So that's our hiking extravaganza until next year! <br />
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Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17496045170487086097noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2088753611055387353.post-87141246998816226682013-01-07T00:14:00.000-08:002013-01-07T00:14:08.405-08:00Merry Christmas!I know this might seem a little late to some but today is actually Orthodox Christmas day. And it is snowing! Well just a little bit, really, but a white Christmas is a white Christmas, right?
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The festivities actually begin several days prior to Christmas Day and we were lucky enough to witness much of it.</div>
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2 days before communities/neighborhoods gather and have these huge bonfires filled with music, singing and warm rakia (Macedonian brandy) our neighborhood event happens to be almost a cross the street from our house. We opted not to go because we have been MAJORLY jet lagged and, quite frankly, just not in the mood. It was fun to see the neighborhood a buzz though, hear the music, and listen to the fireworks. Since we will likely be here for the holidays next year we agreed we would venture out and participate. Below is a pretty terrible pic that I tried to capture of the festivities.</div>
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Then early the following morning young kids come around ringing doorbells signing and looking for treats (much like our Halloween.) Luckily we were jet lagged because our bell rang at about 6:30 am! By the time we were downstairs the kids were next door at the neighbors singing ( luckily, since I had no treats to give! Ha) it was fun to listen to the kids running around.</div>
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Then on Christmas Eve families gather for a meat less meal. There is a traditional 40 day fast with no meat that is then broken on Christmas Day. </div>
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I look forward to learning more, and even actually experiencing, orthodox Christmas next year.</div>
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For now, I am going to enjoy my LAST day of vacation at home and attempting to stay awake all day so that I can get more than 3 hrs of sleep tonight before work tomorrow...</div>
Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17496045170487086097noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2088753611055387353.post-24318173856587363372013-01-06T23:49:00.000-08:002013-01-06T23:49:56.436-08:00Happy New Year!Although I may be a little late, today is the official start to my new year! We arrivd back fom a month in the states yesterday. A now it is back to reality for sure! We arrived back to a smoggy, pollution laden Skopje and to a cat-less house. Talk about depressing! As you know, our (my) 18 year old cat passed away a couple days after we arrived in the states. She was here in Macedonia with our housekeeper who really took great care of her up until the end. The house is definitely eerie without her. I got the cat when I was 14 years old so she definitely lived a long, well traveled life! Now it will be interesting to see how long we remain pet-less ;)<br />
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Ugh, the picture above is from nye but the iPad is driving ,e nuts and not all ping me to put this in the appropriate spot...<br /><br />
May you rest in peace, sweet girl!<br />
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Besides that major downer and getting sick for a week we had a gret trip home. We saw many ( not all) of our friends and family. Highlights of our trip include:</div>
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- I was able to take an awesome trip with my BFF to NYC. I'd always wanted to go around Christmastime! It was awesome to have some one on one QT time! We haven't done that in years!<br />
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- besides being sick, we had a great week with my parents down in Williamsburg. My mom and I shopped till we dropped and Matt rested and caught up on TV.</div>
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- after Williamsburg we were all rested up and headed to Matt's parents in Staunton, Va. We had an exciting time there playing little elves helping his parents prepare for Christmas and I had some precious time with my nieces and nephews! Which included a girls only shoe shopping trip and build a bear trip (our Christmas present to the nieces.) In a change from our norm, we spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning with Matt's parents</div>
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- We made it to my parents for a super yummy Christmas dinner filled with lots of yummy wine</div>
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- we closed out our stateside visit in Northern Va with friends which included a quick New Years eve jaunt to New Jersey to see Matt's favorite band</div>
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Now we are back in Skopje just in time for Orthodox Christmas, which is Monday. Lucky us, we have a 3 day weekend before getting back to the grind on Tuesday!<br />
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Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17496045170487086097noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2088753611055387353.post-15541437495339623562012-10-26T11:41:00.001-07:002012-10-26T11:41:16.523-07:00Updates...with Photos!As you can probably tell, times are a changin' for the Armstrongs over here in Macedonia! I am usually the type of person to grin and bear whatever comes my way (albiet with complaining to my nearest and dearest.) This is our life, a life of constant change. But this time...this time, for some reason, I am having a HARD time with our life changes. I've decided that I'll just embrace it. Not sure if that is a good or bad thing, but it is what it is. I just can't seem to find my groove here in Macedonia. One of my dear friends that I met in Bulgaria VERY early on (who is still living there) keeps reminding me of our weird/wild first months in Bulgaria. They were STRANGE and WEIRD for sure! But I still appreciate those times, they were all part of the process. With this move, I was not prepared AT ALL! We had no time and I truely believe that is why it's so hard this time around. <br />
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There are many great things about this country. The people are SO nice and welcoming! For instance, check out all of this produce that was given to by neighbors and co-workers.<br />
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We also have been gifted home made Ajvar from our neighbor. This time of year Macedonian's start preparing for the winter and jarring all of the lovely fresh produce. Ajvar is a mix of roasted red peppers and eggplant. I think it's delish on a piece of bread!<br />
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Other great things include a REAL town square and an old town (as I've mentioned before.) There are a TON of crazy statues, which as a non-Macedonian, I sort of think are interesting. It sounds like a lot of locals just find them a bit tacky...again, personally, I think they are interesting.<br />
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Matt with Mother Theresa. Mother Theresa, who was ethnic Albanian, was born in Skopje.<br />
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What is assumed to be a statue of Alexander the Great (formally called "the man on the horse) which would probably upset the Greeks since Macedonia and Greece have a "name issue" with the name Macedonia. There is also a region of Northern Greece called Macedonia. <br />
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The Arc 'd Skopje:)<br />
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Matt standing in Mother Theresa's child hood home.<br />
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The main plostad (or square) with the big Skopsko sign (in Cyrillic, of course.) Skopsko is the Macedonian Nat'l Beer. <br />
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A couple of weeks ago on a BEAUTIFUL day, we went to check out the opening day of a wine festival in the city center. I thought it would be a GREAT way to try different Macedonian wines. Turns out you buy a whole glass of wine, at each booth, and the glass is filled to the brim. I didn't like my chosen glass so we ended up leaving the festival for a walk around town and dumped my wine in the grass. Bummer.<br />
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Another new statue. A man and a woman embracing, not sure who it is?<br />
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Sitting on a bench, enjoy the day and people watching.<br />
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We strolled down to the river.<br />
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Look at these neat statues!!!<br />
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Matt allowing me to play photographer in the afternoon light!<br />
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My favorite statue, of Filip the I or II (not sure) waving his fist in the direction of Greece...(not my favorite because of what it stands for, just like the big burly man and his fist. Must stay politically correct here, people...:))<br />
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The Vardar River.<br />
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Another interesting statue.<br />
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The old train station turned museum. I think it is fascinating that the clock on the building stopped at the exact time that the Great Earthquake of 1963 that essentially leveled the city. <br />
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So there you have it. I still must post about our fabulous trip to Ireland with friends from D.C., next week maybe.<br />
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For now, I hope everyone has a great weekend!!<br />
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<br />Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17496045170487086097noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2088753611055387353.post-47463652568184189212012-10-02T13:06:00.003-07:002012-10-02T13:06:45.831-07:00Making a home...So our shipment of things arrived from Bulgaria yesterday and Matt and I took the day off from work to receive the items and get organized. Our total shipment weighed one half of what we are actually allotted and all I could think is 'how in the world do we have SO much stuff?!?!'. This is what it looked like just after the movers left.<br />
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Above is Matt. I asked him why he smiled for the photo because what we had to do was NOT fun. He said he was happy to have our stuff. So sweet. Ha. I was NOT smiling. It's so hard to make a house a home! And I am so freaking anal about being perfectly organized. I want to put things away correctly. Anyway, this is what the house looks like tonight after one full day and one evening of unpacking. </div>
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Andlike I said, this is after SO MUCh work. But we are making progress which is a good thing since we have our first visitor this weekend. Yikes!<br /><div>
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Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17496045170487086097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2088753611055387353.post-83736579645726246612012-09-27T11:16:00.002-07:002012-09-27T11:16:44.253-07:00Kids..Now don't get too excited about the title of this post people...I just couldn't come up with anything more creative!! So yesterday we were on our way home from work and this little sedan drove by (at a normal speed) and a CHILD was standing up with his head out of the sunroof!! Of course, I couldn't get my phone out quick enough to snap a pic! This is something that drives me NUTS overseas. I guess there are no child safety laws, and if there are, they are certainly not enforced. Even in Bulgaria we would see a car zooming down the road and there would be a kid walking around the back see...playing..no seat belt of course. I might have to look into it more while I am here and figure out why kids are not required to sit in safety seats. Can you parents imagine??<br />
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In another news, Matt's car was booted yesterday...this makes me chuckle. Sounds like it was resolved pretty quickly and the fine was not too terribly steep...I still laugh. <br />
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Speaking of money, the money here is crazy to me. It's something like 42 of their denomination = 1 dollar. So lunch costs 400 denars. the grocery bill is 4000 denars...I can't even process it properly. <br />
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We are making movement in receiving our things from Sofia...I'm HOPING it will arrive SOON SOON SOON! I think that will make us feel really settled. The other thing that I really need to work on is a housekeeper. The laundry doesn't magically disappear anymore...the pile just grows and grows...To me, a housekeeper is THE perk to living overseas! Hopefully we will find someone good here who does not insist on stealing from us like our first housekeeper in Bulgaria...<br />
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I am SO SO happy that tomorrow is Friday!! We actually have something social and perhaps FUN to do tomorrow night. Matt suggested I bring my mug ;) <br />
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Everyone have a great weekend and hopefully I'll be able to start sharing some photos really really soon!<br />
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<br />Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17496045170487086097noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2088753611055387353.post-67839367061397159352012-09-25T11:27:00.000-07:002012-09-25T11:27:11.099-07:00The Murs Mug!So since we have arrived in Macedonia I have been "testing" out different Macedonia wines. BTW, so far, do not compare to Bulgarian wines. They are more expensive and not as good. But that is besides the point. We have no wine glasses! So I drink my wine out of a coffee mug! So classy!! For those of you that know Matt, you know that he calls alcoholic beverages "Murs" as in "let's go get some Murs tonight!" or, "are you all Mursed?" you get the point. So last week when he wasn't working, he would come home and I would be having my evening cup 'o wine and he would say "you got your murs mug all filled up??" Now I think I need a special cup/glass just for this. But until we have proper stemware...this is what I am working with:<br />
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<br />Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17496045170487086097noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2088753611055387353.post-5498616299205677092012-09-25T11:03:00.002-07:002012-09-25T11:03:46.683-07:00Welcome to Macedonia!Hello everyone! We've touched down in Macedonia, our new home. Not to be confused with the ancient Mesopotamia. Below is a map for you because, why on earth would you know where this teeny tiny country is located?? :) Just next to Bulgaria and just north of Greece. Should prove to be a pretty ideal location for regional travel. Travel to the rest of Europe? Not so much! The flights from here are horrible and expensive!<br />
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So, first impressions? The country appears to be very small and the capital city, Skopje is small as well. I think there are about 600,000 people in Skopje and 2 million in the entire country. We have a mountain here much like we did in Sofia. But overall, the land appears to more dry and arid. The landscape reminds me a lot of Greece. Dry, rolling hills, etc. <br />
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The people overall seem much friendlier. I understand hardly any of the language (even though it's quite close to Bulgarian...the stresses on words are so different.) There is much more of a muslim population here than in Sofia. The other night we slept with the window open and could here the morning call to prayer, pretty cool. <br />
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At the moment, I am busy comparing everything to Sofia...the city, the embassy, everything. I really do miss our Sofia life. Which is funny, coming from someone that proclaimed to many people that Matt and I could live anywhere. I know we will be fine, but it is definitely an adjustment. The good thing about living overseas is that you learn a lot about yourself. I used to think that change was exciting, now I'm learning that I like to be settled. I hate the unsettled feeling. We had a wonderful, well greased machine of a life in BG and now we are starting from scratch again.. <br />
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On positive notes, we love our house. It's strange for apartment people to actually be in a house, it feels so big to us! We have rooms we don't even go into! Our living area is great and provides space and comfort that we did not necessarily have in our "treehouse" of an apartment in Sofia. I also enjoy our little backyard. I haven't perfected our bathroom situation yet. I've heard our master bedroom and bathroom gets EXTREMELY cold in the winter, which doesn't surprise me since it is currently pretty cool and it's 80 degrees outside. I don't love the set up and am not sure what I can do to make it a bit more conducive for me. We DO have an American washer and dryer, which if you remember our early days in Sofia then you'll remember doing laundry was one of the great mysteries of the world for me there! So the American washer and dryer and the ability to actually have DRY and clean clothing is like hitting the jackpot for me!<br />
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Funny things that have happened so far: our first day in town we had to call the "emergency maintenance hotline" because we blew the fuse to our entire downstairs and could not find a circuit breaker that was tripped. Turns out we have a breaker box outside. That same day, someone in our house (who shall remain nameless) was messing with our alarm system and set it off. Of course, being day one, we had NO idea how to shut it off. It was SO loud and there were flashing lights everywhere! Local embassy guards were dispatched to our house and after about one hour of working with them, we were able to silence the alarms. Needless to say, I'm sure the whole neighborhood is aware that the new Americans have arrived! Lastly, Matt keeps loosing the cat outside!! He'll go outside and leave the door partially open and the cat slinks out. He comes in and a few minutes later we are both usually like "where's Chloe???" and then the mad dash to find her ensues. She's fascinated with the outside but there is a HUGE doberman next door that could easily hop the fence and gobble up our little old lady! We can't be having that. As I type this blog the backyard light came one, it's a motion sensor. And suddenly I see an orange tabby cat walking around our porch, looking in our windows. Perhaps these two have maid friends when no one is looking? <br />
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This past weekend we made our first trip up to Kosovo to Camp Bondsteel. It still sounds so funny to me. Anyway, Bondsteel is a Nato base about an hour away from us. They have a Taco Bell (another jackpot for us!) and a Burger King. It probably sounds gross to those of you stateside but when you have the opportunity to have a little TB in a foreign country, you just can't pass it up! They also have a little commissary and PX where we can get many of our necessary American fixin's. Skopje is what is called a "consumables" post. As in, you are allotted a certain amount of weight to specially ship in food since the local market leaves a little something to be desired. They have no cheddar cheese...for the love! So it's nice to know we can scoot up to Bondsteel sometimes to get our staples. There happened to be some big event at the base that day so our Ambassador was there and we met him in the Taco Bell line for the first time! A little embarrassing...it's weekend #1 for us and we are already at the TB! I started work yesterday and during his meeting with all of the different section chiefs he introduced me and shared with the entire group how we met over Tacos at TB this past weekend...nice 'eh?<br />
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We still do not have our shipment of items from Sofia, much to my dismay. I am THE WORST at packing for this type of thing so I ONLY brought flip flops, running shoes, and too pair of my most uncomfortable (but cutest) work heels. I have no jacket, only light sweaters. I never even considered that it may be October before our things arrive!! Hopefully the come quick!<br />
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No pictures yet because I forgot the cord to connect the camera to the computer, of course. But I plan to get out this weekend and begin photographing away! <br />
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Stay tuned for more updates and PICTURES!! <br />
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<br />Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17496045170487086097noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2088753611055387353.post-32295695629469110942012-07-14T01:32:00.002-07:002012-07-14T01:32:56.250-07:00Dog Days of SummerNothing really exciting to report on our end this summer. We are literally in the dog days of summer with no vacations planned actually, nothing exciting in general planned. And it's been HOT here lately as well so being outside much is not awesome. So, needless to say I'm BORED! Sure, there are plenty of "chores" to do, but nothing FUN! I guess the beauty of Macendonia is that we'll be able to hop in the car and be at a Greek beach within a few hours. I could definitely use some beach time about now! I really wish I was here, right about now:<br />
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With a good book and an icey cold beverage!! Mmmmmmm, heavenly.<br />
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In other news, I'm trying to cook and eat more VEGETARIAN lately. In fact, I haven't had meat in a few days now. I'm thinking maybe we'll try the whole veg thing during the week and do meat on the weekends or something. I still LOVE a good piece of meat, but everything that I've been reading all points to meat being BAD. Plus, we are so lucky to have all of the delicious summer fruit and vegetables available to us! So a good opportunity to take advantage and try be a little healthier at the same time!<br />
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Also on the agenda is to plan a trip here in early September:<br />
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We have some friends planning a trip to Ireland and want to meet up with us. We haven't been yet so hopefully it'll all work out. It'll be SUPER close to when we move, but I'm trying to stay relaxed about the whole thing. <br />
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But for now, I'll continue to dream I'm here:<br />
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And there you have my random collection of thoughts as of late....Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17496045170487086097noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2088753611055387353.post-79795578811291961892012-07-08T00:59:00.000-07:002012-07-08T00:59:30.616-07:00July 4th WeekWe had quite a celebratory week for the 4th of July here in Bulgaria. The Saturday before Matt and I hosted a summer soiree at our house. For no particular reason really. We do not host things nearly enough because I'm always afraid that our place is too small. We really love our apartment but because it's an apartment seperated into 2 floors it definitely has a cosey feel. Anyway, we bit the bullet and decided to have a gathering before many of our friends move away this summer. As usual, with any party, I didn't take ANY pictures during the party because I was too busy hostessing. We did manage a few before the party though:<br />
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Our spread of food. My mom had sent some 4th of July decorations in a care package so we used them for the party.<br />
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Looking out over the mountain from our patio. My flowers this year are HUGE, I guess from all the rain in May. <br />
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The bar. Matt, of course, was in charge of this. I did make Sangria and Margaritas. I'm still finding sticky spots from the Margs. Ugh!<br />
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Then on Tuesday, July 3rd, we had our official national day celebration at the embassy. This year the Ambassador wanted something "relaxed", he didn't want people in suits and ties and wanted more of a "backyard bbq feel." Let me tell you, most receptions that I've been to are very similar. In a hotel ballroom, with the same food and drink, in business/formal attire. I think this year was a success for sure. Our guests seemed to enjoy themselves, and we did too, of course.<br />
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The original diplomats.<br />
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Old Ford (I think they were fords??)<br />
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The Ambassador (in the denim) receiving the colors from the Marines.<br />
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The Marines. I'm always impressed by how sharp they look in their dress blues.<br />
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And at the end of the function, we even had fireworks! <br />
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Chloe's idea of relaxing on the 4th, well any day really, I just happened to be home to catch her lazing about on the 4th.<br />
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Then, later in the evening, some friends of ours opened their home for a Mexican Fiesta/4th of July celebration. I told Matt that all I wanted for my birthday was enchiladas and other mexican food. Because our place isn't condusive to children, our friends agreed to host. Our friends recently had a little baby. I was holding the baby for awhile before I needed to get up and help the hosts. I asked Matt to take the baby. He asked if I could just prop her up on the couch. haha. So he took her and the boppy and this picture cracks me up. They are both looking at each other like "hmmmm, what are we doing here???"<br />
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Our awesome spread. Two kinds of enchiladas, two kinds of rice, dips, homemade guac, homemade salsa, the whole nine yards!<br />
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After dinner, and when it was dark enough, all of the women and children went to a balcony in the house to watch the "men" set of fireworks. And boy were they fireworks. They were HUGE! Lets just say one of the neighbors was less than please with us....whoops!<br />
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Some when my birthday rolled around the following day, July 5th, we were EXHAUSTED!! After work we decided to just stay home, Matt made us a delicious salad for dinner, and relax. <br />
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Overall it was a fabulous week! This weekend has been super low key and I think we'll head to the pool today for a cooling dip. It's been a little hot here (not nearly as hot as back home thought...)<br />
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<br />Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17496045170487086097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2088753611055387353.post-38533485255956422532012-07-04T05:31:00.001-07:002012-07-04T05:31:18.840-07:00Happy 4th of July!!<br />
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Happy 4th of July everyone! This is definitely one of my favorite holidays. I think it's a little bit of the summer fun associated with the 4th, the fact that it's one day before my birthday, and A LOT the meaning of this day.<br />
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I really hope everyone is enjoying celebrating this day and our FREEDOM! with those nearest and dearest to you. The past couple years for us tend to be a little awkward. Here we are, thousands of miles from home, dedicating our lives to upholding the ideals that make our country so great. I know this may sound a bit dramatic because we aren't on the battle lines, with guns, fighting our enemies first hand. But we have definitely committed both of ourselves to representing the best country in the world abroad. I think as American's we often loose sight that, without a doubt, we are citizens of the greatest nation in the world. Being oversees and having the opportunity to experience cultures from other countries often, we are reminded even more frequently that there is nowhere better, nowhere like the US of A.<br />
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So on this day, I hope you will take a moment to say a little prayer or take a moment to reflect or think a positive little thought (whatever your beliefs are) for all the people that make sacrifices everyday to provide us with the life we are accustomed to both at home and abroad. Today I know I thank ALL the great patriots of our nation with all of my heart! God Bless the USA!! <br />
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<br />Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17496045170487086097noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2088753611055387353.post-59467008841859194422012-06-28T10:55:00.000-07:002012-06-28T10:55:36.773-07:00What's next???So we are closing out our tour here in Sofia this summer and getting ready for our next adventure. I seriously can't believe that we prepared for so long to move here and now it's coming to an end. Just this week I have MAJOR mixed emotions about our move. For one, I'm not really THAT excited for our next country and 2) I'm used to living here, I have (in all honesty) the best job I've ever had. BUT, at the same time, because everyone else has started to leave the embassy for good I have the fear of missing out and am ready to go. I think everyone else's "short-timer syndrome" is rubbing off on me! <br />
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Anywho, as you probably already know, we are moving here, in September: <br />
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See, it's JUST next door to Bulgaria. We will literally pack up the car(s) and leave work on a Friday and start at our new Embassy the following Monday. That's so weird to me for some reason. On a positive note, I got a job! I interviewed for three different positions and was offered the job as the Secretary in the Political Office. Of course they don't call it secretary, it's some other more "glamorous" name but let's just call a spade a spade. I think it was the best job out of the 3 and I think I'll have the chance to do some really interesting things. I'm just NOT used to being chained to a desk....which is sort of the point to a secretary-right? I know I sound really negative, I guess that's where I am at this point in time. I know it'll be fine, and it'll be an adventure, and we'll get used to it.<br />
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Oh, Matt just returned from a trip to Skopje and he was able to see our new HOUSE! So that's fun. We were assigned to a house and Matt said it's BIG. Keep in mind, we are used to apartments so any type of house would be big for us. So that's exciting. We'll have a house and a little yard.<br />
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So that's where we are at for now. Finishing up our time in Bulgaria, preparing for our move. We are having a Summer Soiree at our place this weekend so I'm trying to come up with some fun appetizers. Next week we have the 4th of July party at the embassy (our biggest event of the year) and then next week is my birthday day. My lovely husband has planned a mexican fiesta for me (my only request for my birthday!) I'm looking forward to hanging out with friends and stuffing my face with mexican food, which I've been craving like crazy lately! Luckily I had a dinner with some girlfriends last night and they were all craving mexican food as well. Since we dont have any mexican restaurants here, we'll all join forces and create a feast together. Yum!!<br />
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Hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July (one of my most favorite holidays!) <br />Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17496045170487086097noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2088753611055387353.post-68885396806789431622012-06-20T11:54:00.003-07:002012-06-20T11:54:53.320-07:00Last Stop!The last stop on our great amazing road trip was to the Bulgarian Black Sea resort town of Sunny Beach. I had yet to go to the Black Sea so we thought spending the last part of our vacation and Matt's birthday at a beach resort was perfect. But first we had to get there...<br />
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Seriously. This is what we were dealing with. Also, the border crossing was something out of a 1960s horror film. I wish I had pictures. We had to get out of the car, go into a building and see 3 different people to clear the border on the Turkish side. There wasn't a lot of English speaking here. Also, the 3rd and final man to stamp our passport was around the side of a building having a Turkish tea, smoking a cigarette, and stamped our passports on a tree stump. Crazy.<br />
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I don't have any pictures of our day time activities. I was underwhelmed with this resort town. Lots of Russian, British and German tourists come here to vacation. The beach isn't that great and it's really centered around cheesy tourist stuff and binge drinking. Huge clubs and bars everywhere. It was nice to have a pool day, though. <br />
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We headed back to Sofia...and I was SO happy to sleep in my own bed again. We had once last day to do last minute things with Dan and then I made a big homemade meal and birthday cake to celebrate Matt's birthday. It was one of the best meals we had on our trip, if I do say so myself! haha. <br />
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And that, my friends, is the end of our trip.<br />
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Now we are hunkered down in Sofia for the summer before our big move very soon!!Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17496045170487086097noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2088753611055387353.post-34946751985344105302012-06-20T11:13:00.004-07:002012-06-20T11:13:48.090-07:00Istanbul and the Black SeaThe next portion of our trip we headed to Istanbul. We got up early on Tuesday morning and hit the open roads. Getting to Istanbul was an adventure. First of all, we did NO research and depended solely on our GPS which kept wanting us to drive ALL the way back to Sofia (the other direction) then to Istanbul. Getting through Bulgaria was the first crazy part since there are no highways. I navigated us using maps...I am NOT going at map reading! We crossed into Turkey and had a beautiful highway! It was awesome!<br />
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Sidenote: I was scheduled to have a phone interview for our next Post. I had planned that we would pull over on the side of the road and do the interview while the guys stepped out of the car for to give my privacy. The interview kept getting pushed back due to "technical difficulties." So this panel of folks calls me about 5 minutes after we wind up in dead stopped traffic in the middle of Istanbul. I have no choice but to do it then and there. At the same time our GPS went totally haywire and had NO idea where we were going. Matt's trying to navigate the CRAZED traffic, I'm in the front seat answering "scenario" type questions with a panel of interviewers and Dan is in the back seat trying to read a map. Craziness. The interview lasted 35 min and when I got off the phone we still had no idea where the hell we were! For the record: I wasn't offered that position, but another position rather.<br />
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Once we finally found our hotel, it ended up being RIGHT across the street from the hotel we stayed in last time. I had no idea, Matt did all of the planning. It was nice because we had an idea of the area.<br />
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Now, this was our 3rd time to Istanbul in the last 15 months. Surprisingly we didn't repeat anything while we were there. <br />
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One of the only photos of the 3 of us, taken by a man trying to get us into his carpet shop. Blue Mosque in the background.<br />
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Hagia Sophia photo.<br />
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This photo is totally inappropriate, I knew. One of my favorite things (so weird, I know) about this part of the world is all the stray animals. It's amazing to watch them mix with the normal population. In Turkey there are SO many kitties. We were at Topkapi palace here and I was just amazed out how brazen/not bothered this cat was, there were 100s of people around. When you gotta go, you gotta go I guess. <br />
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Entrance to the Palace.<br />
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Beautiful views of the bosphorous straight and Marmara Sea.<br />
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I love the turkish colors in their tiles/pottery. Well, since being oversees it turns out I have an obsession with pottery in general. For instance there was this jar/vase that I saw last time we were in Istanbul and didn't buy it because I couldn't bargain it down enough...I HATE to barter, Matt's even worse. Well, this time I went back to the very store and bought the exact jar/vase because I had been thinking about it since our last trip. I'll have to take a photo and post. <br />
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The palace Harem. In my opinion the Topkapi doesn't do a great job of explaining/helping you understand how life was back in the days of the Sultans. There's another palace, The Dolmbache that does a WAY better job and is much better to see (even though all the books tell you to go visit this palace.) <br />
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We've never been into the Blue Mosque so this time we decided we'd do it. <br />
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You have to take off your shoes (luckily I had socks!) and it says that women should cover their heads. Once we were inside there were some women without headcoverings, not sure why they had to abide by different rules?<br />
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Our second day we decided that we needed to go for a boat ride. We weren't feeling the public ferry's (Matt and I had done this on a previous trip) so we decided to rent an entire boat! We all agreed it was our favorite part. The afternoon cruise was PERFECT and GORGEOUS!!<br />
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After our cruise we were a couple of Turkish beverages deep and decided to go gather some previsions before we headed out for dinner. While Matt and Dan were gathering I stumbled into this pottery store (shocker) that had a carpet shop in the back. If you don't know, Turkey is famous for it's carpets (like many places in the middle east) and purchasing a rug is quite the experience.<br />
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I"m pretty sure the above carpet is the one that I ended up purchasing. I would know exactly because it's still rolled up in the bag because I'm too afraid to unpack it for fear that our cat will have our way with it. I have promised myself that our new house will have lots of hardwood floors and I will use BOTH of our Turkish rugs there :) <br />
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Ok, I was going to do the Black Sea in this post (it'll be a quickie) but I think it's been too long of a post already so I'll save it.<br />
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Until next time.<br />
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P.S. I DEFINITELY need to figure out how to be more concise and to the point. I am SO long winded. ha.Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17496045170487086097noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2088753611055387353.post-28653582975122128282012-06-19T09:31:00.002-07:002012-06-19T09:31:31.605-07:00Road Trip!Our friend Dan, the best man in our wedding, came to Bulgaria to spend almost 2 weeks with us. We spent time in Bulgaria, visited a neat Bulgarian town, hit up Istanbul, and spent a weekend on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria. There was A LOT of driving!<br />
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We spent Dan's first couple days in Sofia. It literally rained every day. Because of this, we did most of our adventuring at night. <br />
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We had traditional Bulgarian fare his first night (forgot my camera that night), the second night we went on a pub crawl that takes you to Sofia's most unique places and the next night we made reservations at this "club" that was really no more than a dingy smokey bar (f you ask me.) The last night in Sofia we went to our favorite restaurant to pig out on Turkish food (again, forgot my camera.)<br />
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The photos below are only from our pub crawl night. <br />
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Dinner before we head out to the park to meet up with the pub crawl folks. <br />
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Park where we meet up. This pub crawl takes place every single day of the week. It's really great if you are just visiting for a few days and need to know the best spots to go to. This was our second time on the pub crawl, each new stop is a "surprise" and they always get a kick out of seeing if my husband knows about each new place. Of course, there are never any surprises for him :)<br />
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Our first stop, a brewery<br />
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There is a bar that is solely lit by candles (although they have electricity.) It's called The Barn and feels like you are in a barn. There is always this old lady there with this cool dog. Our friend befriended the dog this night and carried him around on his leash. ha. <br />
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Our next stop was The Apartment which is literally an old apartment. Albiet it must have been a rich persons apartment because it's pretty big. It's quite "hipster"-ish with all sorts of different rooms that you can "hang out" in. Ours had it's own old school Mac computer that we could control the music on. One time someone told me this used to be some sort of "secret" apartment...maybe like the neighborhood communist headquarters or something? My history is so terrible<br />
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The last stop on the Pub Crawl was to a Rock and Roll club. We literally got table service, had our own seating, everything that you would expect of a regular "club" except they play LOUD rock and roll music. It was a nice change from hearing non stop techno music like you do everywhere here but it was too LOUD for me. Maybe I'm old?!?<br />
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After our weekend in Sofia we hit the road for Veliko Turnovo. Veliko Turnovo was the "original" capital of Bulgaria but I believe they had a hard time guarding/protecting it so it was move to Sofia, which happens to be set in a valley surrounded by mountains. Anywho, I've been wanting to visit VT since we arrived in Bulgaria but had very LOW expectations since most things in this country are of poor quality, especially outside of the big city. I was completely SURPRISED at how lovely this town was! AND it was POURING down rain during our time there. <br />
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Matt rented us a $38/night suite at this hotel. It was definitely a pleasant surprise as well. Definitely not the Ritz, but could have been SO much worse. <br />
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It was raining SO hard and the "walking street" just at the entrance to the fortress was completely torn up. We literally had to wade through mud (sans my Wellies!) to get to the fortress. <br />
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We were even surprised by a FABULOUS meal in this quaint little town. There was literally white glove service. I dont think I've ever eaten at a "white glove" restaurant. I would definitely go back here because the food definitely exceeded expectations. Which, if you ever come visit us in the neck of the world, you'll understand that food quality is just not that of the US. We have found things that we love and have become our favorites but people fresh off the plane think is just mediocre. <br />
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Tomorrow I'll hit our Istanbul trip (driving there is Bananas!) and our Black Sea trip. <br />
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<br />Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17496045170487086097noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2088753611055387353.post-89690802261539915962012-06-18T10:28:00.000-07:002012-06-18T10:28:31.722-07:00Last but not least!!So I'm way behind on our last day of Italy trip, probably because I've been busy vacationing. Our friend Dan came to visit us for nearly 2 weeks and we did A LOT of traveling! We did a major trip around Bulgaria and Istanbul. More to come on that. <br />
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So without further ado let's finish up Italy so we can move on. On our final couple of days back in Rome, it was just me and Matt again. We hit up the Pantheon, which was one of THE coolest places to me. It's SO intact after 1000 years (this may not be all THAT accurate, my history isn't stellar ;)) <br />
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We hit some of the gorgeous plazas <br />
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And on our final day we took in the Collosseum and The Forum...such.cool.places! <br />
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The Forum: <br />
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Matt took this picture at our apartment house, I kept joking that we should get a painting like this to hang about our mantle. I know, I know...sooo mature ;) <br />
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Up next, a recap of our road trip and news on our upcoming move!<br />
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<br />Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17496045170487086097noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2088753611055387353.post-19134473229514333542012-05-22T12:04:00.000-07:002012-05-22T12:04:04.464-07:00Shaken in Sofia!<br />
Click on the video below to see what my night was like last night. At 3 am we were jolted out of bed by a 5.8 earthquake! It seemed to go on for ages, I think because there were immediate aftershocks. We both jolted straight up in bed, out of a deeeeep sleep trying to figure out what was happening. I guess I was saying "what do we do, what do we do?!?!" and Matt was sort of pushed me back down in bed with his arm and was holding it there saying "Relax! Relax!" Once I got my whits about me I was like "WHAT?! NO! This is an earthquake, we need to get in a doorway!!!" So we jump out of bed get into a door way...with my precious older than dirt cat. She just stood frozen...almost like she was riding it out. Matt and I stood in the doorway, he was bear hugging me...trembling. I remember having a moment to think "Wow, this is really happening!" And then saying aloud "Please just make it stop!" I remember it was more like we were swaying then actually shaking. We live on the top two floors of our apartment bloc, so maybe that's why? It finally stopped and we went outside onto our balcony. EVERYONE across the city had their lights on, people were in the streets, people were getting in their cars and just driving. At 4am there was a ping pong game going on in the park next to our house! At 4:30 am we had another BIG aftershock. We were awake, since there was NO sleeping after 3am last night. This time it felt more shakey, like you see in the movies. We had aftershocks all night long. We maybe got another hour of sleep before we had to get up to head to work. <br />
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Throughout the whole thing? We never lost power, Internet, or cell phone service. Unbelievable! AND, there were no causalities and no big damage. How is that possible?? Completely miraculous if you ask me! I remember thinking, it's one thing to go through that in the US but in a foreign country that doesn't have nearly the infrastructure or capabilities that the us does?? scary stuff! <br />
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When I went upstairs this morning I noticed all of the pictures had fallen off the walls, a decorative plate had fallen and shattered and another ceramic thing fell from a shelf. Recently the embassy installed earthquake hinges on our bookshelves and luckily nothing on them moved!<br />
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This morning our housekeeper came in and I asked if she was OK. She was, just shaken. The first thing she asked me was how the cat was doing. God bless that sweet woman!!<br />
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So now, we are all just a bit frightened. and feeling the aftershocks. I want it to be over!! It is so stressful wondering if another one is going to come...<br />
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Anyway, watch the video...the footage is not the impressive but listen to the dogs!! The poor street dogs were going nuts last night...they had no idea what was going on!<br />
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Hopefully I'm off to a restful, uneventful nights sleep!! I need it!<br />
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<h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span class="messageBody"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fhoi-hr6IHs" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank"><span></span></a></span></h6>Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17496045170487086097noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2088753611055387353.post-48983892145790310742012-05-16T09:55:00.000-07:002012-05-16T09:55:16.965-07:00Italy Part IV- The Amalfi CoastShew, it's been a rough week here in Bulgaria! Nothing to write home about, just some annoying frustrations...sooooo, what a perfect, rainy yucky day to re-visit my Amalfi Coast photos. <br />
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So after we spent the day at Pompeii we headed for the cute little coastal town of Positano. I have to warn you that there aren't ANY pictures of the drive because the roads are literally the windiest, scariest things I have ever been on. Completely unbelievable. Once we found our hotel (thankfully without getting lost at all!) we were so happy to partake in our first glass of wine. We rented an ADORABLE little apartment overlooking the sea.<br />
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Because we did Pompeii this meant we only had one full day to explore Positano. This one day just so happened to be the day that our friend's niece who is studying abroad in Florence <i>also</i> happened to be there. So we woke up, enjoyed breakfast on our balcony and then explored the adorable little windy paths filled with cute shops on our way to meet up with our friends niece. We then had a loooong lunch filled with some delish italian beers. <br />
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See that little guy above? He literally had me in tears!! When we walked to the beach there was this little guy and a bigger guy in a standoff. Our friend was like, those dogs are about to fight. There were a bunch of american study abroaders on the beach...the dogs started fighting (my eyes were closed as I was yelling for someone to make them stop) and the DUMB STUPID F&*(@^*( AMERICAN KIDS were EGGING the dogs on!!!! I wanted to BEAT THEM!! The dogs stopped, the big dog ran away and the little dog limped off :( :( The little guy kept laying on peoples beach blankets. What to do? It's not like there's a vet's office close by...it's probably an hour away. The weird thing is the dogs had collars. I guess they are like "village" dogs and the restaurants take care of them. Long story longer, I LOVED this little guy. He was like a little midget dog. I dont think he was a puppy. Matt is dying to get a dog (to which I refuse all the time) so I told him if he could figure out a way to get THIS dog to Bulgaria, he could be ours! Sadly, this little one stayed in Positano :(<br />
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<br />Overall, I'm so glad we stopped in. I'd love to go back and check out Capri and all the Grottoes around. Maybe when it's a bit warmer too. Delicious food, adorable town!<br />
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Oh and to end things off, above is a photo I took of Mt. Vesuvius from the car. This was the best shot/view we could catch. Next, we had back to Rome for one more day and a half. Stay tuned for what's next....<br />Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17496045170487086097noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2088753611055387353.post-17566973955266614032012-05-10T11:49:00.002-07:002012-05-10T11:49:33.112-07:00Italy Part III- Pompeii and AmalfiSo our second full day in Italy we rented a car with our friends, Greg and Barbie, and hit the highway out to the coast. Rome was a little tricky since it was rush hour but luckily Matt but his Bulgarian driving skills to work! There are a TON of mopeds in Rome!! We decided to hit up Pompeii on our way to the coast and boy am I sure glad we did! It was a gloomy day so we couldn't see Mt. Vesuvius but it was so very cool to see all of the ruins and to imagine how things are still standing 2000 years later!!<br />
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We wondered the ruins of the old city for a while. Crazy to imagine what the town must have thought when the volcano erupted!!<br />
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There were so many vineyards, must have been a huge wine production town (surprise, surprise in Italy!) <br />
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This was about the best shot of Mt. Vesuvius we were going to get that day.... <br />
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There were lots of "stray" dogs, which I always have a soft spot for...<br />
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The craziest part of the archaeological site was the imprints of volcanic ash of the people when the volcano erupted. It's crazy to think that these people were just carrying on with the normal daily routines. It's even crazier to me that these imprints have survived so long with very little care...<br />
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The one below is actually a skeleton and ash. Matt wanted us to get in a picture and we weren't quite sure how to pose!!<br />
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Next up, Amalfi Coast!!Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17496045170487086097noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2088753611055387353.post-33461665788042252402012-05-10T11:25:00.000-07:002012-05-10T11:25:04.526-07:00Italy Part II- Rome and The Vatican<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So Our first full day in Rome started out with a trip to the Vatican Museum. We wandered over to Vatican City, grabbed a cappuccino and snack and headed to the Measure for our pre-arranged walk through of the museum and Sistine Chapel. All I can say is holy crowded!!! There were so.many.people at the museum. It was so much that we weren't even really able to enjoy it.<br />
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I mean, seriously, look at all of these people?!?! I still have yet to figure out why we pre-purchased a time slot?! It was so crowded you couldn't even really enjoy it all or take it all in. Other English speakers around us felt the same way. We all tried to take short cuts to just get to the Sistine Chapel since the rest was so miserable but we kept getting turned away by the cards. The only way to see the Chapel was to follow the masses...<br />
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Of course, there are no photos of the actual chapel since I'm a rule follower and abided by the no photo policy. It is pretty impressive though. I'm glad we saw it, not glad that had to fight the crowds.<br />
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Next, was back to St. Peter's square to go into the Basillica. There was also a HUGE line here but luckily it moved pretty quickly. The guards uniforms crack me up.<br />
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St. Peter's is equally as impressive and luckily not quite as crowded. <br />
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My tourist, so happy for a yet another picture!! This definitely depicts how we were both feeling about the crowds! We still had some time so we decided to hit up the Trevi Fountain. It is gorgeous, but again, super duper crowded. I guess the streets, etc. are just super tiny and old and just don't fit nicely into modern day.<br />
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<br />After the Trevi Fountain, we headed off to meet some of our friends from DC! That was sort of the point of heading to Italy at this particular time. Friends of ours were going to be in Rome for work. We met up with our friends, had some drinks and then headed out for dinner. Tomorrow I'll be back with our visit to Pompeii and drive to the Amalfi coast. <br />
<br />Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17496045170487086097noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2088753611055387353.post-67502032274994612562012-05-10T10:50:00.000-07:002012-05-10T10:50:34.057-07:00Italy Part I- Welcome to Rome and Happy Anniversary!So I'm finally getting around to posting about Italy. I have to get a little detailed about the start of the trip because it's too funny not to share. There aren't any pictures, so you'll just have to envision. <br />
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So Matt and I head off to Italy on a Wednesday evening, after work. We arrive at the airport, board the plan and are on our way. Now, if you know us, you know that I pretty much plan the vacations. Matt just packs a bag and shows up. So on the flight he asks me how I plan to get from the airport to the hotel. Something that I had only briefly even thought about, definitely did not have a "plan." I tell him that I don't really have a plan. Also, because my beloved husband doesn't do any of the planning, this also allows him to be very judgey about all the plans I make ;) So, long story longer, "we" decide that I am completely in charge of finding our way to the hotel. Matt agrees to say nothing in the process. I figure, we are spending a lot of money on this trip, why not save a couple bucks and take public transportation to the hotel. There are A LOT of moving factors, obviously, with this path and I NEED to nail it or else I'm going to here about it FOREVER! <br />
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I suddenly feel like I'm on the "Amazing Race." The plane touches down and all but pushing the Bulgarians out of my way to get to passport control and baggage claim. Once we pick up our luggage (for visualization purposes you should know that we have one medium size suitcase, I have a purse, and Matt has a carry on bag) I start speed walking, following the little pictures of trains...which is not all that intuitive, I'll have you know. Apparently I also feel like I"m being "timed" on this race too. We get to the train station and I quickly look around, find the automatic kiosk station and it will not take my credit card because my card does not have the Euro pin #. I try to use cash. No go. Time is of the essence people! So, we have to go stand in a longish line to buy tickets. Then, the trains have no destination. I'm not sure what to do, get on it and wind up in some far away land? Ask someone? Meanwhile, Matt is definitely judging my decisions! We get on the train, determine that it's heading for the center of Rome and we are on our way. The only 2 seats together were the stupid ones by the door.<br />
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After about 30-45 minutes we arrive at the central train station in Rome. I've already determined what metro line we need to be on and everything. I've got this. I start running through the train station to the metro, purchase metro fares, and then we begin winding, and winding, and winding, and snaking our way through this crazy underground tunnel system to avoid construction deep down in the depths of the metro. We've now learned that we are aiming to catch the very last train of the night due to the construction. We keep winding, and winding and winding. We're running because we can't miss the train our else we'll never find our way OUT of the metro. We FINALLY make it to where we are supposed to be, wait five minutes and hop on another train. We ride for TWO measly stops and get off on our stop.<br />
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I am now in charge of the map reading as well. I'm a terrible map reader, that is definitely Matt's job. But, I've planned our our route and i think it should be fairly easy. We exit the metro station only to learn it is RAINING! I'm looking for this tiny alley way to cut through which should make our walk from the metro no more than 4 or 5 blocks. When we finally find said cut through, it's a HUGE staircase. Keep in mind it's raining and Matt's got the suitcase. He carries it up the big 'ol staircase. We finally find our hotel and we fall through the front doors, tired, wet and happy to be done with the "Amazing Race." We approach the front desk, so happy to be there and in the background we hear are wedding song. I NEVER hear our wedding song, let alone in Rome. We danced our first dance at our wedding to James Morrison's "You Make it Real. (I wanted to embed the video in this post but can't figure out how to get that fancy on the blog!!)<br />
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I look at Matt and say "Is this for real??" He looks at me exhausted and sopping wet and nods his head. I ask "I'm I making it real for you right now??" haha. Hilarious to me and such a fitting way to start off our vacation/anniversary trip!!<br />
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P.S. In the end Matt commended me on my route/plan from the airport to the hotel and said there were just some other factors that worked against us to make it harder than it should have been. He also said we'd be taking a taxi back to the airport :) <br />
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<br />Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17496045170487086097noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2088753611055387353.post-10677087237014543142012-05-06T01:36:00.001-07:002012-05-06T01:36:50.926-07:00First Race!So I just got back from my very first "race!" This morning I ran my very first 5k around lake Pancharevo.<br />
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I've been "jogging' in our local park for about 6 weeks but didn't feel I was ready for a real "race" yet. Thanks to some encouragement from a friend we signed up (she ran 1/2 marathon) and some other friends ran the 1/2 marathon as well or the 10k. The only people I knew running the 5k was a family with a 9 year old and 8 year old. The 9 year old little boy ran "with" me (read: ran ahead of me and ultimately beat me ;)) I was just happy that I made it to the end with no walking and, what I think, is a respectable time (32 minutes.)<br />
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The weather is beautiful today so it was a perfect day to run. In true Bulgarian fashion, the race was a bit disorganized, started 1/2 hour late, there wasn't a ton of direction (i.e. all of a sudden they started the countdown and the race had started...) So, in my opinion, this was the PERFECT first "race" for me. Now, I'm ready for more!!<br />
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I'll be back later this week with my Italy posts. I finally uploaded all the photos, just need to organize.<br />
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Happy Sunday!<br />
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Some self photos:<br />
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<br />Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17496045170487086097noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2088753611055387353.post-68634179294124910402012-04-24T11:34:00.002-07:002012-04-24T11:34:31.536-07:00Two Years!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Two Years ago today we were married <a href="http://www.warnerhall.com/">here.</a> It was the most fun and perfect day!<br />
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We have been on quite the adventure ever since as we moved to Bulgaria just several months after our wedding. <br />
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Today we arrived "home" to Bulgaria after a lovely week celebrating in Italy! We were even able to meet up with some friends. More on that in the coming days. Last I looked I had over 500 pictures to sort through...<br />
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Two years sure flies by! I am so thankful and blessed to be on this amazing adventure with my hubby, I couldn't imagine being on this adventure with anyone else!! xoxox<br />
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<br />Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17496045170487086097noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2088753611055387353.post-86589261270403229342012-04-15T03:36:00.001-07:002012-04-15T03:36:57.039-07:00I'm BaaackFor the 2.5 people that read this blog, I'm back! I'm out of winter hibernation, the weather is warming up and things are good here in Sofia! We have a four day weekend here for Orthodox Easter and our enjoying time in town, relaxing and catching up on things! I.e. Blogging :)<br />
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So what have we been up to lately? <br />
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We went home for some R&R over the holidays. We met up with friends in DC for New Year's. Matt and I then went down to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl. Virginia Tech (my Alma mater) vs. Michigan (Matt's college team, since he went to a small school in Michigan with no football team.) I'm still hearing about the Virginia Tech loss. I have zero pictures because after our NYE festivities my camera was temporarily lost (one of our friends put my camera in their jacket and didn't discover it for 3 days....) Anyway, we really enjoyed our time in the states, had our fill of yummy American food, family and friends!<br />
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Winter was quiet here in Sofia. It snowed A LOT! Probably more than the big snow in DC a few years ago. The only difference, everything carries on as usual! I think we MAYBE got a 1 or 2 hour early release one day and work started 30 minutes late one day. Luckily we don't live up in the mountains like many folks. It sounds like their daily commutes were quite adventurous. There was snow on the ground when we arrived back form the states in early January and it didn't melt until mid March. The mountain is still covered in snow. So, I was too busy trying to stay warm and never took any photos. I have seriously never been so cold in my life. Nuts.<br />
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Moving along, it's finally starting to get Spring-like here in town and we are loving it! I've been "jogging" in our local park which is nice and refreshing and last weekend we purchased ourselves some tennis rackets. It's been sort of rainy here so we try to hit the courts in between showers. ha! <br />
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We also met up with my old roommate and her husband in Istanbul for St. Patricks day weekend (kinda weird being in a Muslim country on an Irish Drinking holiday.) Also crazy that we were able to meet up half way around the world in Turkey!! We did hit several pubs...they were all teeny tiny but managed to get our compulsory St. Patty's day Guinness!<br />
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Other than that we are trying to savor our last few months in Bulgaria. I'm beginning to prepare for our move as well make a list of everything that I want to see/do/buy before I leave this country. We have a hefty list, but I think we'll get it all done! More on that later...<br />
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Hopefully I'll be back sooner rather than later~Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17496045170487086097noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2088753611055387353.post-8233197958235075102011-08-01T11:41:00.000-07:002011-08-01T11:41:16.859-07:00MIAWow, haven't been around to update this much lately. Since my last post...MONTHS ago...I got a job at the embassy! I've been working hard which means I have less time to play. It's a good thing though, I'm SO SO thankful that I am now gainfully employed once again. <br />
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So, rather than tell all about what's been going on here for the last 4 months, I'll show you what we've been up to in pictures. <br />
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We took a trip to Istanbul to meet friends! <br />
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Matt surprised me with a trip to Venice for our 1st Anniversary. So amazing!! and I'm so lucky and spoiled :)<br />
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I met my parents in England, visited with family and then they came to Bulgaria with me for a week.<br />
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And last but not least, we spent the 4th of July holiday on a Greek island closer to Bulgaria called Thassos. The island and beaches were gorgeous. Definitely a quaint, not quite so developed island. A total 180 from Santorini but just as beautiful!<br />
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I think that about covers it. Now, we are trying to enjoy what's left of summer. I dread, dread the colder weather!! Since we haven't had a "real" summer vacation together we are thinking of taking a long weekend somewhere. Maybe to check out the Bulgarian Sea. We'll see what happens.<br />
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Hope you all are well and enjoying a good ole American Summer!!<br />
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XOXOMandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17496045170487086097noreply@blogger.com3