Greetings to all of our loyal and lovable followers,
Team Manrin has decided to share with you their most interesting tale of the weekend. It began after Erin and Manny were both presented with employment at an English school in Freiburg. Since the job requires some travel on the part of the teacher, the school coordinator asked if Erin and I would be confident to drive. Of course we both nodded and agreed at our own interviews but did not reflect until afterward that neither of us had driven a manual transmission vehicle. This may not sound difficult to some, but having driven only automatic vehicles as is quite common in Canada, we tend to be.... at a loss when presented with this situation.
As a safety precaution and a means of practice, not at all an excuse to travel, Erin and I decided to rent a car for the weekend and travel to the neighbouring nation of France. We were fortunate to walk into the rental office a half hour after closing and be able to get service. Our vehicle, a lovely pale blue Opal with a complete sunroof, was the automobile of choice. We prepared ourselves strapping in seat belts and slowly walking ourselves through the process of driving stick. And so began the most painful driving Freiburg has seen in decades. Ninety year old persons would have put us to shame. Manny, having had a quick lesson from a friend before traveling overseas, began the driving experience. His attempts weren't terrible, but he did manage to stall the car at least two dozen times in the first half hour. The many honking horns, questionable looks from pedestrians and missing a streetcar by 3 inches were only a few of the reasons we thought we should simply return the vehicle. Erin was having no more success than Manny either, we just couldn't get it going. As we sat parked in a small alcove next to a construction site, trying desperately to stay positive but finding little success, a light bulb went off in Manny's head "I think we've been trying to start the car in 3rd gear". Needless to say, the driving became significantly smoother thereafter.
That does not mean it was easy by any means. France is notorious for roundabouts and tightly compressed roads that have vehicles brushing past one another like shoppers during Christmas season. That, and the faulty GPS (aka Helga) made the 3 hour journey become a 5 hour journey. Couple that with angry Frenchmen whose living room Manny accidentally shone the headlights into while desperately searching a map and you've got yourself a 6 hour journey in the dark on mountain slopes.
Yes, it was stressful and difficult, but on the bright side our hotel had a fantastic spread of many foods and desserts for dinner and breakfast. Fresh bread, fruit, cheeses and meats of our choosing, a variety of salads, cold cuts and a few things that I'm not sure what they were (I think one was asparagus except it was white and strange tasting). Desserts of ice cream, mousse (chocolate, strawberry, lemon) figs, dates, apricots, banana pie, coconut pie, something that may have been chocolate cake... among other things (can you tell I'm a connoisseur of food?). The return trip was a visual masterpiece. Erin departed from our hotel in Lon-le-Saunier amid 15 degree weather onto a canvas of sunny blue skies, alpine mountains coated with deciduous trees, valleys absolutely filled with vineyards and the occasional castle still standing proudly upon its high peak in the mountains. Small villages and towns occupied valleys creating quaint picturesque scenery which made the previous days disaster worth the drive back. We took what pictures we could and hope you enjoy them. They should be available on facebook for all of you interested.
Until the next journey
Manrin
Sunday, 20 November 2011
Monday, 7 November 2011
Searching for house and home, with a sprinkling of hiking on the side
Hello everyone!
Well, it's not yet been a week but we already have much to share. As some of you may know, we are currently residing with friends from the Guelph area living in Freiburg. They have been very gracious and accommodating hosts, still we don't think they'd be overly pleased if we ate all their food for the entire year of our stay.
Searching for an apartment is a difficult task, but in Germany it seems the rules are... different from those in Canada. In many situations apartments will not come with a stove, fridge, or in some cases even a kitchen sink! A deposit worth two months rent is generally required and top that off with several owners asking for a commission simply for choosing you to be their tenant. The commission usually ranges from $1500 to $2500! Those are the landlords who we've decided to have nothing to do with. So, browsing the web has led to several potential apartments which have the basic utilities, don't ask for a commission (Provision) and don't charge ridiculous rates. We were very close to having a lovely 2 bedroom apartment...until we discovered the home was actually 40km from the city, out in the middle of the Black forest. We had a laugh and are continuing our search with many possibilities presenting themselves.
For those of you who would like to visit us, we'll have plenty of hiking ready for when you arrive. Pictures will be posted soon, but we both agree that the mountain forests are absolutely stunning. We spent a good 6 hours of yesterday hiking through the mountains, getting lost in the fog, but inevitably enjoying the serene beauty. The trees stretched a good 25-30m (80-100 feet) into the sky and there was something breathtakingly haunting about walking the misty alpine trails where Hansel and Gretel, Red Riding Hood and many other fairytale stories took place.
That's all for now, but we'll keep you posted in the coming days, weeks and months.
Manrin
Well, it's not yet been a week but we already have much to share. As some of you may know, we are currently residing with friends from the Guelph area living in Freiburg. They have been very gracious and accommodating hosts, still we don't think they'd be overly pleased if we ate all their food for the entire year of our stay.
Searching for an apartment is a difficult task, but in Germany it seems the rules are... different from those in Canada. In many situations apartments will not come with a stove, fridge, or in some cases even a kitchen sink! A deposit worth two months rent is generally required and top that off with several owners asking for a commission simply for choosing you to be their tenant. The commission usually ranges from $1500 to $2500! Those are the landlords who we've decided to have nothing to do with. So, browsing the web has led to several potential apartments which have the basic utilities, don't ask for a commission (Provision) and don't charge ridiculous rates. We were very close to having a lovely 2 bedroom apartment...until we discovered the home was actually 40km from the city, out in the middle of the Black forest. We had a laugh and are continuing our search with many possibilities presenting themselves.
For those of you who would like to visit us, we'll have plenty of hiking ready for when you arrive. Pictures will be posted soon, but we both agree that the mountain forests are absolutely stunning. We spent a good 6 hours of yesterday hiking through the mountains, getting lost in the fog, but inevitably enjoying the serene beauty. The trees stretched a good 25-30m (80-100 feet) into the sky and there was something breathtakingly haunting about walking the misty alpine trails where Hansel and Gretel, Red Riding Hood and many other fairytale stories took place.
That's all for now, but we'll keep you posted in the coming days, weeks and months.
Manrin
Thursday, 3 November 2011
Traveling Abroad!
Hello friends and family!
Well it was a lengthy travel but we finally made it to our destination. We said our goodbyes in Toronto, Tottenham and Guelph over the past week and it was difficult not to try and drag each and every one of you with us.
The plane ride from Toronto to Heathrow was manageable, with a strong selection of movies and shows to keep one occupied, as well as the actually edible meals and snacks served aboard. Our connecting flight was a slight panic. The first flight had arrived late at Heathrow and our connecting flight was set to depart 40 minutes after we landed. If any of you have had the fun of wandering the football field length hallways that encompass Heathrow you'll understand why 40 minutes is too little time. That, and the ever present security scans, make for a lengthy indoor journey. Fortunately, Odin was watching over us and managed to delay the second flight, giving us plenty of time to stumble upon our gate somewhat haggard and dishevelled. We landed in Frankfurt around 2pm German time and from there loaded up enough baggage to survive a year abroad. To save on space I (Manny) wore both my spring and winter coat. Needless to say I was not cold at any point, but I may have lost a few pounds of weight from all the sweating I managed to do.
From the airport in Frankfurt we took a train to Freiburg. We feasted upon fruit, water and some pre-made sushi Manny found in a train station supermarket. We arrived in Freiburg a few hours later, barely awake. The taxi driver had no idea where the address was, but eventually asked a friend and discovered it was really not very far.
We buzzed the door and were greeted with the smiling face of Jonas, a friend and former U of G German TA. With a little help we hauled up our luggage and finally sat down in a place that allowed us to stretch our legs without fear of being trampled or rolled on. After a nice dinner and a display of wedding pictures we decided sleep might be a good option. I think the 13 hours of sleep is a testament to how we were feeling last night. Today we are relaxing and beginning our search for a home of our own and checking out the local job market.
We both miss our friends and family terribly. Although the adventure has only just begun it will not be the same without each of you there to make our lives the joy that they are... but hopefully we can convince a few of you to fly in our direction in the coming months.
Lots of love
Manrin
Well it was a lengthy travel but we finally made it to our destination. We said our goodbyes in Toronto, Tottenham and Guelph over the past week and it was difficult not to try and drag each and every one of you with us.
The plane ride from Toronto to Heathrow was manageable, with a strong selection of movies and shows to keep one occupied, as well as the actually edible meals and snacks served aboard. Our connecting flight was a slight panic. The first flight had arrived late at Heathrow and our connecting flight was set to depart 40 minutes after we landed. If any of you have had the fun of wandering the football field length hallways that encompass Heathrow you'll understand why 40 minutes is too little time. That, and the ever present security scans, make for a lengthy indoor journey. Fortunately, Odin was watching over us and managed to delay the second flight, giving us plenty of time to stumble upon our gate somewhat haggard and dishevelled. We landed in Frankfurt around 2pm German time and from there loaded up enough baggage to survive a year abroad. To save on space I (Manny) wore both my spring and winter coat. Needless to say I was not cold at any point, but I may have lost a few pounds of weight from all the sweating I managed to do.
From the airport in Frankfurt we took a train to Freiburg. We feasted upon fruit, water and some pre-made sushi Manny found in a train station supermarket. We arrived in Freiburg a few hours later, barely awake. The taxi driver had no idea where the address was, but eventually asked a friend and discovered it was really not very far.
We buzzed the door and were greeted with the smiling face of Jonas, a friend and former U of G German TA. With a little help we hauled up our luggage and finally sat down in a place that allowed us to stretch our legs without fear of being trampled or rolled on. After a nice dinner and a display of wedding pictures we decided sleep might be a good option. I think the 13 hours of sleep is a testament to how we were feeling last night. Today we are relaxing and beginning our search for a home of our own and checking out the local job market.
We both miss our friends and family terribly. Although the adventure has only just begun it will not be the same without each of you there to make our lives the joy that they are... but hopefully we can convince a few of you to fly in our direction in the coming months.
Lots of love
Manrin
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)