Hiatus in Venice

Today, I leave on a great adventure to Venice, Italy! I am so excited to visit this city, it's been on my bucket list for a very long time. I'm traveling with my friend Becky. We've had many adventures together, and I know we're going to enjoy this one as well.

Becky and I in Ireland, 2012

I won't be doing as many posts here on the blog while I'm gone, but I did prepare a few things for you that will post as scheduled. You can also keep up with me via my Facebook page. I'll try to post some up-to-the-moment pictures of Venice when I can. I know the bed and breakfast we're staying at has wifi available, and I'm sure we'll find a connection at local cafes as well.

I'll see you on the flip side, my friends!

Thanks for reading, everyone!

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Adventures with French Press Coffee

This weekend, I finally decided to try out my French press for coffee. I bought this contraption several weeks ago for two reasons:

1. I love coffee.
2. The French press was super cute.

These might not have been the best reasons, but they work for me.

My new French press

Until a few months ago, I didn't even own a coffee maker. This wasn't because I didn't like coffee, but because I like it too much. I wasn't sure I'd be able to control myself if coffee was so readily available in our home. All that changed when we moved to Germany. I'm honestly not sure why, but now I've got a Keurig and a French press.

So, my first attempt at the French press involved a lot of reading directions, and then blatantly breaking the rules. Written at least 4 times in my instruction booklet were the words, "use ONLY coarse ground coffee".

I totally didn't do that.

Instead, I chose to use my favorite coffee, Dunkin Donuts! It's the best, people. You've got to trust me on this. Of course, it's quite finely ground, but I didn't let that stop me.

Also, this was the only coffee I had in the house, and I really wanted to try my French press.

The press was actually much easier to use than expected. Simply measure out the appropriate amount of coffee, add it to the bottom of the press, then top with boiling water. Insert the wire filter/press (but don't push down!!), then seal the top.

Adding boiling water to the press

Sealed press. Coffee is steeping

I let my coffee steep for 4 minutes. The longer you steep, the stronger your coffee will be. At the end of your steeping time, press lightly down on the filter (that round ball thingy sticking out the top). With less coarse coffee, there is a possibility the filter may become clogged, but I didn't have that issue.

Pressing the coffee

You can see from the above photo what the coffee looks like as you press it. The grounds are captured by the filter, and the coffee rises above.

Then, you simply pour your coffee and enjoy!

Side note, I adore these little cookies you see in the photos above. Another of my favorite things about living in Europe!

Truly, this was one of the better cups of coffee I've had at home, even though I broke the rules. The French press seems to create a deeper, richer flavor. Totally worth using, and I plan to do so again and again.

For my fellow coffee fans out there, what are your favorite brewing methods? And for my coffee connoisseur friends (like one of my favorite bloggers, Caffeinated Army Wife), I'm so sorry for being such a goofy novice, ha.

Until next time, my friends!

Thanks for reading, everyone!

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Chinese Fasching in Dietfurt

Last week, I joined up for an ACS trip to Chinese Fasching in Dietfurt. I love taking field trips through ACS! They are always inexpensive (or free!), and they've really helped me adjust to living in a foreign country. You feel safer with a group, and it's nice to have someone available who can explain what's going on around you.

 Anyway. That was my ACS spiel. Check yours out today, peeps.

Onward to the parade!

"Fasching" is not just a German tradition, but has many names around the world. For example, in Italy Fasching is known as Carnival. For my American friends, you know this tradition as Mardi Gras. Fasching begins here on November 11th at 11:11 and 11 seconds.

I'm really not sure why. But that's the way it is.

Most of the parades and festivals are in the last weeks before Ash Wednesday and Lent. Dietfurt has an unusual  Fasching tradition, called Chinese Fasching.

Our group at Dietfurt's Chinese Fasching

I'm no expert, but the basic story behind Dietfurt's Fasching is this…

A long, long time ago (I have no idea of the year, or even era), the people of Dietfurt were being charged to pay more taxes from whoever the guy in charge was at that time. This was not cool with them. So rather than pay the taxes, the population closed their gates and hid behind the walls of their city. Essentially, when the tax man came knocking, they pretended no one was home! Needless to say, the head honcho was pretty annoyed. He compared the town of Dietfurt to the Chinese behind their great wall, and the moniker stuck. Nowadays, the town is extremely proud of their "Chinese" heritage, and they celebrate it every way they can.

Kinda cool, isn't it? I love crazy stories like that.

Our local tour guides

After a tour of town with a local, we ate lunch and squeezed into the crowds. Lucky for me, Jen the Baker made friends with a super nice gentleman. He helped us get to the front of the crowd, and stay there.

Jen the Baker, with our new friend Ziggy

The parade itself is so much fun! Candy and popcorn and treats are tossed into the crowd. We were even passed pieces of cake. And shots of liquor.

Lemme tell ya… Germans know how to have a good time.

Singing abounded. Chants were called and answered. The energy is amazing. Check out some of the video feed:







I was way too short to take perfect photographs from my position, but the camera did a great job when held high over my head, ha. Here are some still images from our day:

Because the day of the parade was also "ladies' day", most of the men were dressed up as women! Even the younger boys of the town got into the spirit of things.

 I wasn't sure how I'd feel about Fasching, but I LOVED IT. I had such a good time, the Hubs and I went to the Fasching parade in our town that weekend too. I'll be back soon with pictures from Velburg's celebration.

Until then, happy travels!

Thanks for reading, everyone!

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