der Zulassungsbescheid

Posted on July 23, 2012 by Trysta

…finally!

Rejection letters never come in big envelopes, right? We hope…

It reads:

Approval document for winter semester 2012/2013

Dear Mr. Wall,

Your application for the winter semester 2012/2013 in the following course of study at Albert-Ludwigs University Freiburg is approved:

Ending goal: Master of Arts (M.A.)

Subjects:

Political Science: main subject in 1^st semester

Short. Direct. Impersonal. Were you expecting a love-letter? Come on, people, this is Germany.

Gut gemacht, Schatz. It is all a plateau from here.

Wanna be Foodies in Scandinavia

Posted on July 4, 2012 by Trysta

I knew we were in for some interesting food experiences, just based on what I had read about all three of the countries we were visiting. So, this post is dedicated solely to our gastronomic adventures through Sweden, Norway, and Iceland! It is also dedicated to Chip, the most dedicated food-photographer I know!

SWEDEN

One can’t visit Sweden without enjoying a famed Svenskt Smörgåsbord. Also, notice how the portions get smaller through every course!

1st Plate: Seven different types of herring, boiled new potatoes, sour cream and onions.

2nd Plate: Three types of salmon, two types of reindeer (meat and Pâté), venison, and two potato salads (one with shrimp, one with herring).

3rd Plate: Swedish meatballs with lingonberry jam and the traditional Jansson's Temptation (chopped potatoes with anchovies).

4th Plate: Cheesecake, apple strudel, and "cookies".

Mid-summer also means strawberry season in Sweden! The strawberries we bought at a road-side stand on the way to Lake Siljan were delicious, but dessert at our hotel restaurant was even better…

Strawberries topped with strawberry sorbet and sprinkled with brown sugar. Super-sour fruit roll-up on the side. Invisible surprise inside...pop-rocks!!

NORWAY

Eating in Norway was unbelievably expensive. But, how often can you embark on this culinary craziness?!

Whale steak wrapped in bacon (Joe's yummy salmon filet in the background).

Moose stew (it looked absolutely disgusting on the plate, but it was super tasty!).

Bergen had one of the best first markets I have even seen. Not only could you take home whatever you wanted to enjoy for dinner, but there were also hot grills ready to cook up your selection for instantaneous enjoyment.

Tasty fish market dinner: King crab-legs and salmon.

ICELAND

This meal was tapas style, thank goodness. The restaurant was really dark, which I was also grateful for!

Smoked Puffin!

Iceland’s Southern Coast

Posted on July 3, 2012 by Trysta

Time to hit the streets! I wish we had enough time to drive all the way around the island, instead of just the southern coast. Motivation for a return visit?!

Eyjafjallajökull – A tiny little building right off the Ring Road tells the story of Eyjafjallajökull’s eruption. You know it- the one that stranded millions of European air travelers in April of 2010. At the foot of the volcano is the Þorvaldseyri family farm. The story of their perseverance, along with the strength of their neighbors and the entire country in the face of natural disaster was inspiring. This is a story that has been repeated for this nation numerous times over.

Professional picture at the Visitor Center, on the day of the erruption.

The farm and mountain today. Quiet, for the time being.

Jökulsárlón – Europe’s largest glacier, Vatnajökull, is breaking apart and moving out to sea at this lagoon. It was really amazing to watch the icebergs turn over and move around in the current.

Underside of an iceberg that just tipped over, and two Puffins.

Amazing iceberg on a cloudy day.

The colors and striations of the formations were so interesting. A huge piece of this iceberg broke off and thundered into the lagoon right in front of us. It was surprisingly loud! Sadly, our reflexes weren’t fast enough to get it on film.

What's left of the iceberg, after a chunk fell off, and the glacier it came from.

Joe and his iceberg.

I'm not sure what we were doing either, but it was obviously hilarious.

Countless waterfalls – All along the Ring Road (main thoroughfare and only road to circle the island) there are numerous amazing waterfalls. Several times we had them all to ourselves.

Skógarfoss

Seljalandsfoss

Heimaey, Vestmannaeyjar – For our last day in Iceland, we ventured south of the mainland to the Westman Islands. Only one of this cluster of 12 islands is inhabited: Heimaey. The mission was to find Iceland’s most iconic bird…the puffin! After 7 miles of hiking, we found most of them to be enjoying the summer sea.