tt's travel blog.

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes."

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Sunday Funday- Flea Market

Sunday Funday was a great day! We had about 10 workers come and help us build a hoyshover.  This is some what of an old traditional tipi home made out of hay, and is pointy at the top. Guests at BluGarden were all invited to join us at this little gathering.  We had a lot of good food, drinks, people, and even borrowed a friend's goat (Suzie)!

I left from the party early to go to Berlin to a flea market in Mauerpark.  This flea market was the biggest one I've seen in Berlin (the other one I've been to was at Zoologischer Garten).  I liked this one a lot because a lot of the products sold were handcrafted and some were very neat! Tons of people showed up that day, even with the overbearing heat. The thing about flea markets that I find as a "downside" is that they are all so darn overwhelming!! It's how I feel about the Mall of America, except it's worse. You can easily catch yourself standing at a table full of handcrafted jewelry for 15 mins and then you realize there's 5 more surrounding tables with more neat jewelry. ..

Some tables are very cheaply priced, such as used clothes or handbags, and some are overpriced.  And just when you thought you've finally catch all the tables and you're at the end of the tunnel, you're wrong. It's a never ending street market.

When I was finally outta there, I wasn't sure if I brought a bunch of gifts or  just a crap ton of junk. Hopefully not the latter :P

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Art Exhibition- More Sky

On Friday, the Liebscher family, Sven (Rodica's boyfriend) and I went to Berlin for some family fun. We had dinner at an Asian restaurant (sehr lecker).  I will never forget the red origami lotus flower napkins #mindBlown (that's how you know you're at an Asian restaurant).  It's weird, I'm always impressed to see/hear an Asian person speak fluent German. Silly. But it's definitely cool to see people of different cultures come together and connect by a single language :) things like that makes the world a lot more beautiful.

  Afterwards we went into the center of the big city, where tall flashy buildings stands towering over me. We finally found our destination at an art exhibition by the famous German artist Otto Piene "More Sky." The art show included colorfully shimmering shapes on over 1000 hand-painted glass slides are projected into the open exhibition space, resulting in what Piene calls a “poetic journey through space.”

This show was very very different than anything I've ever seen. It was in 15 minute increments, with about a 10 min break before it starts all over again as people are free to come and go.  Bean bags are laid out for the people to relax and observe the show on, or they can walk around as their shadows are cast on the screens over the slides. While the slides flash by, there is an automated voice repeating words such as "Descent" and "Whiteout" minutes at a time, which I found quite interesting, strange and annoying for lack of a better word. Everyone at the show could have been brainwashed for all I know :P (thoughts of the paranoid suspicious side of me). It was a nice experience and I enjoyed it with the familie Liebscher very much :)

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Feel Festival

This weekend I went to Berlin again to the "Feel Festival" with my friend Lilith and her friends. Despite the first downpour when we arrived, and the second downpour/storm before we left, it was a grand time!

For all I know, young people in Germany are extremely into techno music, so that was what Feel was all about (also the dancing!) The festival was right on a lake, and so when the sun came out again, we went swimming for a little, until it started coming down again. Had some beers, took some group selfies, and danced in the rain. It was one of the best memories of Deutschland.

Afterwards we went to Felina's place to watch the game.  Honestly, I do not care much for FIFA/the WC. I respect the love people have for futball and whatnot, but I've noticed that it's really gotten out of hand, and the obsession people have for the world cup or sports in general, over basic human rights and the love for humanity is absurd. Ironically I'm in the perfect place for it all.

After the game, we got food and it was so irritating, to say the least.  It was a nonstop party everywhere, fireworks were going off, horns and honking everywhere, people cheering every 2 minutes... you'd think we'd won a revolution! I just wanted to get home...

Regardless, it was a fun filled day with awesome people :)

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Fat Tire Bike Tour- Berlin

Last weekend I took the train to Berlin with Rodica and her friend to do the Fat Tire Berlin Bike Tour. There are Fat Tire Bike Tours all over Europe, usually in big cities! The tour is given usually in their Native language as well as English (thank tha Lawd). I really enjoyed my tour of BerliN! It's such an amazing city..with so much art and so much history... we had about 7 or so stops, and our tour guide would give us a little history about the site at each of them.  I was especially fascinated by one of the Memorials built for the lives that were taken during the Holocaust. It did not have a name; the architect wanted people to decide for themselves what they want to make of it. The area had hundreds of rectangular blocks, no two were the same, covering the area. Looking over these blocks, I felt a deep melancholy feeling, it just hit me, it was unreal, but it was very real, that the genocide of over 5.1 million Jews, and altogether roughly 11 million victims (between 1933-1945) took place merely 70 years ago..

There was a staircase that led me down to a museum of more history of WWII and the Holocaust, including diaries and letters written by the victims and their families. All of it was really heartbreaking, and even though it's history, it really didn't happen that long ago, I mean, I've talked to German friends here and they've had grandparents who had to see their friends die in front of their eyes..

At one of our stops was a huge parking space and a big apartment complex, with a little sign in front.  This huge space was where Hitler's underground flat was , with 30 or so rooms.  This was also where he committed suicide.  Neo-Nazis fought to have some sort of memorial of Hitler for this area, so they got that sign.

I really enjoyed the bike tour and wished I would have done it earlier on this trip. I definitely recommend it to other travelers  [not tourists] like myself.  :)

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7 week Update

Today marks the 7th week of me living in Germany!!! Crazy how time flies, its almost unreal that I've been living here for that long with the Liebschers... really it has been a blessing.

I'm actually getting very accustomed to the culture and living a typical "German life". I'm used to the routine, although the "routine" here at the Liebschers is not much of a routine, it's quite different everyday. One day I'm gardening, the next I am helping at the flower shop making arrangements, help clean the apartments or running errands with Peter, Yvonne or Rodica.

I really appreciate the nature that surrounds our village, especially the forest that I run through with Odeen and Lani a few times a week. In clinical studies, they say being in nature and nature sounds 2 hours a day reduces stress hormones up to 800% and activates 500-600 DNS segments knownto be responsible for  healing and repairing  the body.

Living in Germany, I'm outside well over 2 hours daily, and I can say not only have I been stress free, my spirit has been more lively. I've become one with nature and I really appreciate the beauty of Mother Earth, something that others may overlook tackling their busy lives and work schedule. It's really nice being away, to have this amazing perspective that we often tend to take for granted.

Homesick? Actually no, not so much. (But I will miss the 4rth of July terribly). I do Skype my family about twice a week, and communicate with them (and friends) through social media, but I'm really enjoying every moment. Especially recently because the days have seem to go by so fast, I only have 3 weeks left =(

All I can do is make the days count, and make the best of July in Deutschland!

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Overburden Conveyer Bridge F60

Last week, Peter took one of the families that are staying at BluGarden, and myself, on a tour of neighboring villages of Neurendorf and its coal mining history.  The highlight of the tour was the "Besucherbergwerk F60" (built 1989-1991)- the world's largest mobile machine, described as the "lying Eiffle Tower" with a length of 502 meters. This particular F60, the last one made, is the series designation of five overburden conveyorbridges used in brown coal (lignite) opencast mining in Germany.  It was shut down after 13 months of operation due to energy and political reasons. The other four F60s, however, is still in operation in the Lusatian coalfields today.

The family of 4, Peter, and I had a mini tour through this machine, and thankfully I had my own English-speaking tour guide, a mini recording casset player. It was a nice interesting tour! Walking through the conveyer 50 meters above ground, you can see the beautiful landscapes of Lusatia, and the developing Bergheider See lake right behind the F60. Great tour!

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Shopping Night- Event

This weekend was Lubben's annual "Shopping Night"- a typical event held usually in the summer by stores and restaurants filled with live music, drinks, and entertainment.  Each shop/restaurant usually has a theme, not only to advertise their products but simply for fun and entertainment. "Human mannequins" are very common during this event for a lot of shops.  This is where they have a few persons or kids dressed up (accordingly to their theme) at the windows with the store's products.  The purse/bag store nearby had a pirate theme, other stores had body paint and snake dancers. 

I got to experience Shopping Night this summer working with the Liebscher's at Bluming Inn- their beautiful flower shop! Our theme this year was "Red Carpet", and all the workers had to wear stashes named a certain flower, mine was Miss Orchid.  Prior to this event, I helped purchase items needed such as candles, cups, liquor, and small snacks.  I also helped set up the back area of Bluming Inn, setting up tables and chairs, flowers, candles, all glasses for wine, champagne and soda. Sven (Rodica's boyfriend) and I were the bartenders during the event, so we had set up the bar and sink area.

8 o'clock was when people started rolling in, drawn by the loud upbeat music by the Italian band we chose this year.  It was a lot of fun and everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves! Next thing I knew, the place was packed! To clear the air- Yes, Germans do love beer. No, their beer is not warm.

The challenging part of working this event (besides the horribly slow and dysfunctional beer tap), is, again, the language barrier. I reviewed the drinks in my head beforehand what they will ask, but when it's actually happening, I'm like a deer in headlights, with bad ears... they talk so fast! Sven ended up taking drink orders while I poured the beers. The event got over at 2:30, and word on the skreet was that we were the busiest place  in town/hot spot that night! Good music, great drinks, awesome people, beautiful flowers everywhere...what can beat that?!

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Peetah Pan (Jorg-Peter)

My lovely Liebscher Family: Rodica, Yvonne, Peter

Yesterday was a very special day, it was Jorg-Peter Liebscher's birthday! Where do I begin with this loveable, social butterfly hustla man..

Peter is a lover of all cultures and so he has friends from all over the world.  Having exchange students in his home or interns from other countries is not uncommon in the Liebscher family, in fact, Peter and Yvonne have always encouraged Rodica to travel abroad to many countries to study,  and she did! Parents like them are very inspiring to me. It shows a lot of courage, open-mindedness, and passion for learning and discovering to raise their children revolving around the importance of traveling and seeing the world in a different perspective- one of the biggest stepping stone of growing!

Although I've met Peter for only a short time, I have really gotten to know the big-hearted, caring, funny and charming man that he is. Peter is one of the hardest working man I know.  With so much drive, Peter is always striving to be a better and more successful businessman, a sheer reflection of his wifeYvonne. I call the Liebschers the hustle gang, because it’s incredible how they are able to stay on top with their 3 businesses yet still make time for meals together and family time.

Both parents push me to help improve their English grammer, and through this I have grown to know and love them both and their cute personalities.  Peter's favorite word is "similar".  He loves to use this word, and every chance he gets he will squeeze it in anywhere, and we love to make fun of him for that. Peter also loves strawberries, tomatoes, nature and trees, people, quark (cheese sauce with raw eggs and onions), taking pictures!! and most importantly family time.

Anyway, his birthday was on the hottest day of the month, and we went to the lake with family and friends for coffee, cake, and brownies (made by yours truly-Chef BoyarThi).  After some good laughs and a short swim, we grilled out at BluGarden and shared some more laughs. It was the perfect night with my perfect, crazy German hustle gang family! Alles Gute zum Geburtstag Peetah Pan!!

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The Beautiful BluGarden Apartments!

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BluGarden Apartments

The Liebschers, as I may have mentioned before, also own a hotel/apartment located literally across from their home called "BluGarden Apartments".  BG is fairly new, built in 2012 by the Liebschers with the help of some friends and workers. This hotel/apartment holds 7 spacious apartments in the two buildings where guests usually stay for 3-7 days. The "big chief" who runs the apartment is Rodica Liebscher. Rodica books rooms for guests, answer guests' questions and concerns, contact maintenance of any problems, and keep the apartment looking pleasant, up-to-date and comfortable for the guests. 

Today I learned how to book reservations and manage guests services that Rodica must complete daily.  You can book a reservation for BluGarden through two websites, and booking.com is one of the most simple and well-known sites to go through. First Rodica showed me how easy it was to look up BG Apartments, look at their rates, competency and reviews, and finally book a reservation if the dates were available.  I think the trickiest part of the job is to try and reach full occupancy as much as possible without double booking or over looking reservations.  Even though BG requires a minimum of 3 nights' stay, if there is a night or 2 open and someone requests a reservation, she will offer the room anyway so they can reach full capacity. 

Since the Liebschers live literally across from the apts, problems or concerns would be solved promptly and effectively. Emails are also responded nearly instantly. Their business style is handled in a professional way and they consistently put the guests' interests first. The guests always get one complimentary jar of pickles or mustard pickles upon their arrival, which I thought was a nice gesture, along with many other amenities such as Tv and cable, kitchen and appliances, personal deck, and an electronic grill. Also, guests may also rent bikes if they decide to take a stroll around the towns nearby! How neat!

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Gardening Project

The last 3 days I have been gardening with Yvonne and Sabina, planting new flowers, plants, grapevines, trees, ect,(at least 70 altogether) at a family's home in our neighbor village.  I haven't gardened for a very long time so this project has refreshed my basic gardening skills :) Also I have somewhat overcome my for-as-long-as-I-can-remember-horrifying fear of wormssssss. (probably why I never used to garden).

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Final project

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DAY 2 set up

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DAY 1 of Setup

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Post Das Sommerfest

The show was great! Saterday (the last day) was the longest day of them all. After the show around 1130, we had to load all the flowers and decorations into carts and boxes onto the trucks before morning.  We did this in about 4.5 hours!

I've learned a lot by watching Yvonne (my supervisor).  Yvonne to me a perfectionist when it comes to decorating or setting up a scene.  I've learned there's always room for improvement when it comes to detailing, after watching how detail oriented Yvonne was.  This show was one of the biggest Music shows in the region, with over 3.5 million viewers this year, so it was very important to have the scenery looking realistic and right at every angel. 

This was a once in a life time experience and I'm glad I got to help with decorating the stage and work with everyone.  It was a lot of work but I now know how to make decisions on what is needed and expected on the setting of the shows.  Helping Yvonne assign tasks to our workers really helped us stay organized and work fast and efficiently, especially on the last day.