Guests in town

Hey All! Here's a quick post to tide you over until the next one. Brenda's Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Ron are still in town and we are having a great time with them. We spent the day today traveling to Nürnberg and visiting the beautiful Christmas market there. Yesterday was Ron's birthday so we helped him celebrate (with schnitzel). Brenda had two (very successful) shows over the weekend. Ron and Marilyn got to see both operas and even invited some of their German friends to the performances. We have been having a lot of fun and the time has been flying.

Brenda at the Nürnberg Christmas Market

Unfortunately, I have to keep this short since sleep is always a high priority for me. I hope you are all having a great week and I'll talk to you soon!

Busy Bee-renda

Hey All! Guess who forgot what day of the week it was and, therefore, is a day late in writing this week's blog entry. In my defense, pretty much every day is Saturday for me so it can be hard to keep all of the Saturdays straight. My absent mindedness might also have a teensy-weensy bit to do with a certain video game that Brenda and I play. A big expansion came out for World of Warcraft yesterday and we spent a good part of the day (more than I care to admit) in that world instead of this one. In any case, it's time to fill you in on what we've been up to.

Brenda is currently in the middle of an intense stretch of performances. When all is said and done next week, Brenda will have performed 3 different opera roles (some more than once) and a gala performance totaling 6 performances in 10 days. That is a lot. I might also add that the 3 opera roles are in different languages (French, German and Italian). On Saturday, Brenda performed at a fundraising gala for Oper Frankfurt. She sang for a bunch of opera donors (aka rich people) and then rubbed shoulders with them over dinner. From what I've heard, her singing was very well received. She looked gorgeous to boot.

Sorry about the blurriness of the photos.

Come on Apple, why isn't there a 12 megapixel camera in the iPhone?

On Sunday, two of our friends, Juliane and Patrick, came down from Bremen to visit and see Brenda perform. We had a great time with them and they seemed to really enjoy Brenda's opera, Die Zauberflöte.

Brenda's Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Ron will be arriving in Germany tomorrow. We're really looking forward to spending time with them. While they are here they will see two of Brenda's shows. Also, we will all be going to Nürnberg to visit the famous Christmas Market there. Guess we'll have to drink more glühwein. Darn.

I hope you are all doing great and I will talk to you next Tuesday. Unless I forget what day it is.

Snow!

Hey All! We are living in a winter wonderland. We woke up yesterday to a beautiful sight: snow! I realize that snow may make some of you think of shoveling driveways and dangerous driving conditions but, since we don't have a driveway nor do we drive, it is a welcome sight to us. It means that Christmas is on its way and we are one step closer to going back to the US at the end of December.

A view from our kitchen

The other side of the apartment

Turkey day came and went and we did our fair share of celebrating. On turkey day proper we had a few people over for pizza and merriment. A great time was had by all even though no one ordered turkey pizza. On Saturday we went to the Marsh's house for their annual American Thanksgiving (come to think of it, are there any other kinds of Thanksgiving?). As in the previous years, it was filled with lots of traditional foods and lots of friends. The Marshes always put in a lot of work to feed the twenty or so people that attend and we certainly appreciate it.

Our apartment is filling with Christmas decorations and holiday music. We are getting into the holiday spirit and we need only one last piece to finish the puzzle; a christmas tree. The last time we had a Christmas tree was in NYC. We are long overdue.

Our new tree stand

Frankfurt's Christmas market opened a few days ago and we are very excited to go see it. It looks like we'll get over there tomorrow. Glühwein and Schneebälle here we come!

Have a great week and I'll talk to you next Tuesday!

Amsterdam

Hey All! I am writing to you from beautiful Amsterdam. As I mentioned last week, I am here visiting my friends Kris and Drew. Some of you may remember Kris as the guy who did a wonderful job playing piano at our wedding. Kris and Drew have lived in Amsterdam for almost two years and they both love it. I can understand why. Amsterdam is a gorgeous city with a lot of character and, in spite of its actual population, Amsterdam feels like a big village. I would definitely say it is one of the most appealing cities I've seen since moving to Germany.

Canals run throughout the city. As do bikers. There are lots of bikers.

I have really enjoyed hearing the Dutch language being spoken around town and on TV. I don't speak a word of Dutch but the language sounds like a mixture of German and English. Sometimes it seems like I could understand what's being said if I would just listen harder. Even if I could understand, however, the spelling and pronunciation of the language are different than any other language I've studied. Maybe I'll start learning Dutch as soon as I finish mastering German. (Don't hold your breath.)

That green thing in the middle of the picture is a public bathroom.

I would have to be pretty desperate to use something that public.

Based on her reports, Brenda has been enjoying her time in NYC. She has been having lessons and seeing lots of friends. I'm glad she's having fun but I'm looking forward to seeing her on Thursday when she gets back to Frankfurt. I head back to Main-hattan tomorrow. It will be nice to be back in a country where I'm only partially clueless about what people are saying around me.

I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving and I'll talk to you next week!

Dutch not Deutsch

Hey All! Things in Germany have been very wet lately. It has been raining almost everyday and the sun's appearances have been few and far between. Luckily the bad weather hasn't kept Brenda from rehearsals and performances but it has put a bit of damper on Frankfurt's usual charm. I'm sure we'll see the sun again sometime over the next six months.

On Sunday Brenda performed her first revival of the season. The show was Orlando Furioso. Brenda was in the show when it first premiered last season. If you would care to look at pictures of the production you can do so here. I had the pleasure of being in the audience on Sunday and enjoyed Brenda's performance thoroughly.

Last Saturday Brenda and I went to Wiesbaden to hear Handel's Messiah performed in a beautiful church. Our friend Florian did an exceptional job singing the bass solos. A boys chorus made up the choir. I had never heard a boys chorus live before. I am happy to report the kids did a great job.

This weekend Brenda and I both have trips planned. Brenda is going to New York to work with her voice teacher. She will be arriving back in Germany on Thanksgiving. On Saturday, I will be headed up to Amsterdam to visit our friends Kris and Drew. I have been wanting to go to Amsterdam for a long time so I am really looking forward to the trip.

I hope you have a great week and I'll be sure to send you a post from Amsterdam!

if you can't stand the heat...

Hey All! Not too much to report this week. Brenda has a show going up on Sunday (Orlando Furioso) that she first performed last season. I have been trying out new recipes lately. I made a delicious cabbage and pear thing a couple of nights ago that turned out pretty well. Tonight, however, I tried to make a simple pumpkin dish and it ended up exploding in the oven. I guess I still have a few things to learn.

I hope you're all doing well and I'll talk to you next week!

Happy Halloween!

Hey All! Halloween has come and gone and we celebrated in the grand American tradition - we carved pumpkins, watched a scary movie and ate pizza. Eating pizza is a Halloween tradition, right?

We have a blackboard in our apartment and Brenda decorated it for the occasion.

The carving in action.

The super scary squashes!

I hope you all had a great Halloween and I'll talk to you next week!