WEeeeeeeekend.

This past weekend was splendid! On Sunday it was Jacky's birthday, so we headed to Sudpark to have an epic picnic. And epic, it was. We frolicked around in the sunshine, ran into a pond with at least one hundred mating and really loud frogs, sat by a lake and generally just laughed all day. It was gorgeous, and I even got sunburnt! Then, I took a group of girls to their first opera experience at the Oper am Rhein, "Tosca"....my ALLTIME favorite. It didn't quite live up to my expectations, but I was still able to learn a lot and enjoy my favorite opera tunes!

Monday, I took a day trip to the historical city of Aachen with Heather, Jacky, Elina, Trine and Liam. Aachen is on the very western border of Germany, right next to Belgium and the Netherlands, and it was the center of the Carolingian Empire way back when, not to mention the coronation and tombsite of the great emporer Charlemagne.

The Dom, definitely the highlight of the day, was UNbelievable, full of mosaic and Byzantine art and motifs....the art historian in me went a little nutso.

The cathedral was built in the year 800 AD...which totally blew my mind. There was alsot plenty of time for goofing around in Aachen, which you can see in the video below:

Sunshine and a day by the Rhein...

Today was fantastic!!! The sun was out again...and the weather warmed up a little bit so I didn't need a jacket. I went for a brief run in the Hofgarten, then ventured out to a picnic by the Rhein with some other nannies plus Alex. Since we're all pretty broke...the picnic consisted of lots of chocolate things...but it didn't matter. We spent some time playing by the riverside and skipping rocks, enjoying the view of the city and the sunshine.

After the picnic, some of us split off to take a Rhein cruise, and I had coffee and cake with Marie, Adele and Alex. That followed by a MARVELOUS performance of Verdi's "Rigoletto" at the opera house with Heather! The production was pretty new-age, but the singing...oh lordy the singing was fantastic. Finally a production with solid and committed performers throughout the whole piece! And musically tantalizing!!!

Here's my video for today:

When in Holland...

So, today, "Ascension Day", is a German National Holiday, so I had the day off! Sarah, Laura and I took a road trip to Maatstricht, a little town in the Netherlands that's about one hour away. We had such a blast!

We got off to a little bit of a rocky start getting to know Gabrielle, our GPS personality, however it led us to the small village of Titz....this slightly distressing detour made this hilarious picture possible.

The day included the discovery of a flea market, a street fair, and city gates that dated back to 1229, AND the Basilica of the Virgin Mary dating back to the year 1000! Whoa!!

Apparently the Netherlands are known for their "Pommes"...or french fries, and they way to have them is with "Speciaal Sauce", otherwise known as mayonnaise mixed with curry ketchup and onions. Sounds gross, right? WRONG. It was the most delicious thing.

Here's my video blog from the day!

Feeding time at the zoo

So far today....other notable happenings: Mucki peed all over me while I was changing his diaper...thus I had to go change my whole outfit. Ahhh, the joys of childcare.

I also vocalized...which felt AMAZING...especially because I didn't feel vocally awesome today, so it meant that I had to work EVEN HARDER. I ended my session with a really excellent run of Handel's "Non Disperar". I've been working on "Depuis le jour" from Louise, however I think it's just too hard for me right now. It sits right on the passaggio, which is difficult for me to sing with solid support and resonance...much less leave any room for styling and phrasing. Okay, enough shop talk...

Video Number 2!

This one is also sideways.....but I will learn....

Video Blog! 11 May 2010

It turned out sideways.... oh well!

Sick

Busy week...Mucki has been a little sick, and then the next thing you know...so am I. I've spent approximately the last 36 hours in bed...fever is finally gone, but now I'm completely stir crazy from being inside this whole time.

No real profound reflections...I'm just really pissed that my whole weekend has to be spend resting up in bed. BOO.

And, to top it off, I would kill for an ice cream, however absolutely NOTHING is open on Sundays here in Germany. And I'm not about to put forth the effort to put on clothes so I can go stumbling around the Atlstadt looking for something that MIGHT be open. No. No no. I will stay in bed and watch old movies.

On the other hand....missing my mom these days....she's doing so well with her treatments but I still wish I could be there with her. A visit home next month will be definitely called for.