Word of the Week: Luftschlangen

The German word of the week means, literally, "air snakes". Many friends and relatives who have received gifts from us in the past few months already know that the word doesn't refer to actual snakes, but to long, spiraling pieces of colorful paper -- streamers!

Luftschlangen are really cheap (50 cents for a package of 3 rolls) and they contain a lot of streamers that make any party more fun. It took us a while to figure out how to use them, but once you get the hang of it it's very easy to make a nice, big celebratory mess! They were blowing all over the streets during Karneval in January, and since then we have tried to put at least one roll in every birthday package we send out.

1. tear off a circle (1 streamer)
2. hold it in front of your mouth
3. then blow to send out the streamer

And they are a big hit! Once the party is over, they make great packing material, cat toys, and last (but not least) dog decorations.

photo of Nora from her Auntie Deet

Our Visit to the D-Day Beaches

source: Army Signal Corps Collection, U.S. National Archives

During our trip to France, we spent almost an entire day driving along the Normandy coast to see important sites from the D-Day landing on June 6, 1944. We started out in Bayeaux, east of most of the landing areas, so we worked out way west. Here's a map of our tour:

Click to view D-Day Tour, Normandy Coast, France in a larger, navigable map

Our first stop was Arromanches, where the Allies built a false harbor by floating concrete and steel barriers across the English channel. We could see part of the harbor still intact in the distance, and pieces had also washed up on the beach. The story behind the harbor's design and construction is really fascinating, and explained well here.

Greetings from the Fat Cat

The formerly obese feline who started it all sends summer greetings and wishes for extensive relaxation in the sunshine.

She absolutely loves the balcony looking into the garden (so many birds! hours of entertainment) and the European-style tilt and turn windows that open all the way. We really love our sunny apartment, too, and have been spending as much time as possible out on the balcony. While a heat wave hits the northeast, our 'hot' days are in the high 70s and low 80s--we finally broke out our shorts today. We could get used to this!

Road Tripping through Normandy

After touring Paris for two days, we rented a car near the Louvre and--after managing to avoid colliding with the terrifying hordes of scooter-riding maniacs that plague that fair city's streets--we hopped on the highway and headed for Normandy. I loved this part of our trip for several reason. But first, a brief geography lesson...

Normandy is a region in northern France, known for its creamy cheeses, Calvados, and mussels. It's not a small region either, but encompasses several largish cities and many small towns and villages.

And it turns out that Normandy has a lot of really neat places to visit in addition to the D-Day beaches! Here are my favorites, in no particular order:

1. Cute coastal towns

Places like Honfleur give east coast towns like Rockport a run for their money in terms of cuteness. This pretty little harbor was a favorite of Monet's and other painters. Us, too--we ate a box of delectable macarons while people watching and enjoying the sunshine.

2. Beautiful chalk cliffs

After seeing postcards of dramatic cliffs while browsing shops in Honflour, we decided to take a little detour to Étretat. The postcards and my pictures just can't do it justice. The view from the beach is stunning, with the white pebble beach curving away towards a church set high on a hill above the sea.

But the most magnificent view is reached by walking up the cliff path. Wildflowers cover the tops of the white cliffs, leading down to dark turquoise waters. It reminded us very much of the west coast of the US.

But the west coast isn't littered with so many bunkers! These things were everywhere, tucked into towns, poking out of shrubbery in back yards, and greeting us at trailheads.

Happy 4th from Cologne!

Our local grocery store (Aldi) brought in a ton of 'amerikanische Lebensmittel' the week before the 4th, so I stocked up on peanut butter, hamburger buns, marshmallows, and other items that we normally don't see around here. It was pretty funny to watch people turn over the packages in their hands, trying to figure out what some of the items were, sometimes consulting other shoppers. The most mystifying items appeared to be the packaged baked goods (slightly squished brownies and whoopie pies, I believe).

mysterious "sandwich sauce," an original American recipe!

I also grabbed a disposable grill from a different grocery store (there are 6 within a 10 minute walk of our apartment!), so we'll be spending the afternoon in the park trying out this contraption and hopefully grilling some tasty burgers.

Hope y'all have a safe and fun Independence Day!