EUROPA - Part I - To Rome and Beyond....

The morning was hot and muggy. The streets were loud with cab horns blaring, garbage trucks making the rounds, and kids playing on their way to school. On all accounts, it was normal Wednesday to most people in New York.

I, of course, couldn’t sleep in. The one day where we could actually sleep past 6 AM, and I’m making my first pot of coffee catching the early Sportscenter. The nervous antics set in and there’s really nothing I could do about it.

Today marked the beginning of our epic voyage across the mighty Atlantic to the continent of Europe. We were to spend ten days experiencing the land that our ancestors knew, traveling between Italy, Austria, and Germany. Rome was our first destination, and from there we would travel by train to Florence, Cinque Terre, Venice, Salzburg, and Munich.

The day went by rather quickly. Christine and I spent most of our time finishing up the last-minute packing and errand running. Everything was going smoothly. We ate, we laughed - we even danced in our excitement as we counted down the minutes till we could leave to go to the airport. We decided to save some cash (to be spent on souvenirs, of course) and take the train to JFK airport as opposed to the cab. I had the route planned out to the millisecond, so we left right on the exact second I calculated with my calculator in my front shirt pocket as I pushed my glasses up.

I should have known when I said “smoothly” that at least one thing would go wrong. As we were about to head out the door, I picked up Christine’s bag to help her carry it down the stairs. Riiiiiiiiiiiippppp! The bag split! I frantically yelled to Christine to grab our other suitcase, and began throwing articles of clothing and shoes all over the place trying to fit them all in as neat and orderly as the ripped bag. Lucky for us we had that other bag, or else I don’t know what we’d do. We were delayed approximately 10 minutes and 37 seconds (give or take), so I worried in the back of head we’d be late, miss our plane, and be stuck in New York forever (thanks for the travel anxiety, Dad). Once we could get on the train, I thought, then my mind could be eased.

Enter part 2. The train just so happened to be closed this day from 12PM – 4PM. Fantastic. Simply fantastic. “I guess we’ll just grab a cab,” I heard myself scoff. But we weren’t the only ones who missed the memo of the closed train station, because as soon as I said it, I noticed 30 people with their hands out trying to hail a cab. We hustled up the street a few blocks, in hope that we could catch a cab before the throngs of people were waiting. We guessed right, and after 3 agonizing minutes of waiting, we successfully hailed a cab. Onwards to JFK, and onwards to the ancient city of Rome. I couldn’t wait to holler at Julius Caesar and Maximus from the movie Gladiator.

The airport was busy, but was to be expected. The plane left on time, which surprised me. I’m so used to extreme delays into or out of New York, that I was caught off guard when they boarded the plane. In 9 relatively short hours, we’d be in Rome.

We were meeting Christine’s loveable brother Charlie in Rome. The lucky son of a gun was studying in Rosenheim, Germany for the semester, and decided he would just take a week off of schoolwork to travel throughout Italy with us. Must be tough. Rome’s center is about a half hour train ride from the airport terminal, so we had planned to meet Charlie right at our hotel. We got off the train and made our way through the short few blocks to where we would be calling home for the next three days. As we turned our last corner to the hotel, we were greeted by who at first seemed like a caveman, but who was later determined to in fact be Charlie. Hugs and back slaps aside, we checked into our hotel, which turned out to be more like an apartment in the city. The dude checking us in was really nice, and although his English wasn’t superb, showed us how to get to most of the main attractions of the City. Where to begin?

I forgot to mention – we landed in Rome at 7:30 AM, having left New York about 5:30. We were fairly tired from the jet lag, but seeing as it was about 9 when we left for the day, we had to fill up the time with cool and awesome things that wouldn’t force us to pass out. Seeing that it was relatively close to where we were staying, we decided to make our first stop be Ancient Rome and its infamous Colosseum.

The Colosseum. Lemme just say, right now, that the Colosseum is seriously one of the coolest things on earth. Yes, I’m a fan of Russel Crowe’s Oscar winning Gladiator, and yes, I thought Roman mythology and history was insanely awesome when we learned about it in school. But seriously, just looking at this 2,000 year-old structure is pretty incredible. We can hardly make buildings to last for 50 years now, and the Romans made this thing to last for 2,000 years, still going strong? Just look at it, in all its glory!!

We took our time there, and even stopped to eat at one of many Roman pizzerias on our trip before we headed into the belly of the beast. I don’t know why I didn’t think you could, but you can actually go inside the Colosseum and walk around. The line was a bit ridiculous, but lucky for us we randomly ran into some girl from New Jersey selling tour tickets. Touristy, I know, but we skipped the hour+ line and only paid 3 Euros more. Do the math. The ticket also included a free tour of the ancient Roman Forum, which I was equally as excited about as the Colosseum.

I’m sure you all probably know at least some of the stories about the famed arena, once the center of the world, and the site of some of the bloodiest and most terrible form of human entertainment of all time. Gladiators would fight here. Gladiators weren’t all like Russell Crowe though, most of whom were slaves forced to fight to their death against themselves, animals, and even small armies. All for the applause and pleasure of the Roman people. The air was a little eerie in the building, but it was easily the top historical site I’d seen in my life up to that point. I’ll let the pictures do the talking for me:

After the Colosseum, we redeemed our free tour of Ancient Rome. We were met by a very loveable Brit named Tom as our tour guide whom Christine instantly had a crush on. He swept us off our feet with his British wit, charm, and immense historical knowledge of Ancient Rome. We walked through the Roman Forum, the ruins of the castle and even that sweet racing track that Ben Hur used to dominate.

That night we stumbled across the river to an older part of town known for its pizzerias. We were pretty excited for this part of the trip, as I think all of us wanted to see how much better the food and wine in Italy actually was. It was actually better than what we expected. The wine tasted fresh and especially flavorful – and was cheap, too. We savored our meal and wine and sat under a canopy as rains fell above us. After dinner the only thing we could manage ourselves to do was make it back to the hotel and pass out.

The next morning we got up early to jump on an opportunity to have a personalized tour of the Vatican museum. Christine’s new eye candy Tom had told us the night prior that we could save waiting in line at the museum and enjoy the commentary of a charming Englishman by taking his tour through the museum. We obliged and showed up outside the museum at 9 AM for the start of the tour. We saw the line – a few hundred people long and over an hour in wait time – and immediately were happy with our decision.

The Vatican museum is a littler overwhelming to begin with, and would have been a struggle to go at it alone anyways. We soon realized the benefit of paying a little extra to have a personalized tour of one of the most famous museums in the world.

It was incredible. I can’t even begin to explain some of the powerful masterpieces of art that are housed here – I’ll let the pictures do the talking, once again. The highlight of this part of the trip was the Sistine Chapel. You always hear how “wonderful and amazing” this is, and how it was Michelangelo’s masterpiece and all that jazz, but to be honest I was ready to be let down. I mean, how could it live up to the hype? Welp, it did. It was amazing and breathtaking and all the other cliché words that people normally use to describe it. It was simply the greatest piece of art I’ve ever seen. Also what’s cool about it is that you’re not supposed to take pictures while in there, making it that much more powerful of an experience to see in person, at least for me.

We walked around the Raphael rooms, and I thought about Leonardo and Donatello (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle reference) the whole time. The tour ended at the largest church in the world: St. Peter’s Basilica. Just take a gander at some of the inner beauty of what holla atcha boy Pope Bene gets to see on a daily basis. (NOTE: for a more detailed viewing of our trip, check out all the pics! CLICK HERE)

After the Vatican museum, we walked back across Rome to our hotel. After meandering through some awesome old streets that looked as though we stepped back a few hundred years, we went back even further and visited the Pantheon, which dates back to Emperor Augustus in 27 B.C. That’s B.C., people. Even 27 A.D. would be ridiculous. So old, yet still standing. Now the Pantheon is used as a Catholic chapel and on Pentecost, thousands of rose petals are dumped through the ceiling at the service.

Our last day in Rome was spent walking around to various parts we missed along the way. We allowed ourselves to sleep a bit later and got started attacking the city at lunch time. We took the metro a few stops to a pretty spectacular castle, and made our way through the windy streets to the Spanish Steps and a ridiculous fountain. The day was nice and hot – sandals and shorts weather. The area around the Spanish steps is known for its shopping, and that’s exactly what we did. Lunch was pretty cheap, though, so it came out ok.

The small cobblestone streets throughout the city with the ancient structures and thriving culture in the arts and life make Rome an amazing city. I, for one, enjoyed the city very much so and list it as one of my favorite stops/cities I’ve ever been to. The mix of the ancient world that even pre-dates Christ mixed with the trendy culture had me itching for more. Just sitting on the Spanish steps, basking in the sun with locals and tourists gave me the appreciation of Rome. The pizza as fantastic, as were the many stops of gelato (see Florence). I wish I spoke Italian so I could fully appreciate this great city.

Spring

Much has happened since the time frame of the last blog post. We've more or less set into the New York "rhythm" of life that we've been desiring for so long. But that's about to change in the next three months, where we inflict mass chaos and business onto our lives. That's just how these things happen. But before that, let's recap the end of Winter into Spring in New York.

When we left off at our last great adventure, there was 2 feet of snow on the ground, and we were busy preparing our winter quarters in Central Park. This past weekend, it was 88 degrees and we joined many other sun-starved New Yorkers for the annual "Soak Up the Sun On the First Hot Weekend of the Year" festival in Riverside park. It was kind of like a beach in a way, as in we could see water (the gorgeous Hudson River, to boot!), and we were laying out on a blanket. I just want to say that Riverside Park is definitely underrated by a lot of people. Sure Central Park is awesome and has a lot of cool things, and it's in the center of Manhattan, but Riverside park is where you go to escape the crowdedness of Central Park. It also has some great running trails right next to the river, so I'd argue you can't beat it. Try.

One of the best things about New York in the Spring/Summer is the opening of all the outdoor restaurants. Celebrated by many for many different reasons, one is able to enjoy the sun and a nice meal while joining in one of New York's most heralded sports: people watching. Where else is it perfectly acceptable to stare at passerbys while drinking mimosas at 11 AM? Another thing about New Yorkers: they think Brunch is defined as taking place from the hours of 10-3 pm. The last time I checked (which was 30 seconds ago on m-w.com), brunch is defined as "a meal enjoyed late in the morning." That means brunch ends at with the morning's end, which is noon, people. Sorry. But there's nothing better than a summer's stroll down Hell's Kitchen on a Saturday night, checking out people's meals and deciding what looks the best for that evening. Even the overly aggressive restaurant greeters out front of every establishment bring a smile to my face this early in the season. Check back in late September, though.

We've had some visitors these past few months as well. Jokingly referred to by our friends as Hotel Mayhaus, our spare bedroom has been used pretty consistently since we moved in. We really should just open it up and charge rent. The Plagemans came up again in early March to enjoy the Cincinnati symphony in the Carnegie Hall! We'd never been in this historic music center, and what better way than to see the greatest symphony in south-western Ohio tear the place up?! Ok, so I might have fallen asleep once. BUT! it was because the music was so good, not because of anything else. It was once again great to see the P's, and we enjoyed much of New York's cuisine while they were here.

Making their annual trip during Spring Break, Emily and Christina Mayhaus also tried to take on New York. We got real lucky with unseasonably warm and awesome weather, so we celebrated by row-boating in Central Park. Who even knew you could do this? Surely not I. We also tried to fit in in Hipster-Williamsburg at the local jewelry shops and trendy restaurants. It was a great day to walk around, and good to see parts of New York we don't make it to all that often.

A lot else happened. Our friend left for Germany, so we saw him off, we were able to go to a Big East tournament game courtesy of Christine's uncle Greg, and we even fit in a trip to DC to visit Jason Beck and Tracey Heckmann, two good friends from High school. We also joined 4000 other New Yorkers in Hands On New York Day, or HONYD (pronounced ho-knee-Dee). We were stationed at Little Bay Park in Queens on another gorgeous day, and were tasked with the goal of removing any and all garbage from the rocks and beaches of the park. It was tough work being outside in the sun at a beach while picking up garbage, but someone had to do it.

We've just chilled the past few weekends, enjoying spending time with friends, the weather, and relaxing. Things won't be like this for long, though, as per our long list of trips and visitors penned in within the next few months headlined with a trip to Europe in 2 weeks! Except a full-blown, Adventures in the Big Apple 3-part blog post of this purely epic event. Until then, like the most interesting man in the world, "Stay thirsty, my friends."

Locks, Stock, and Two Smokin' Igloos

I know, I know. It's Spring now, so what right do I have to post something about winter? Well, I'm sorry. I'm late. But, without any further ado....

Never a dull moment in New York. That’s what they all say. We’ve had a good host of humorous moments here in the city (as you all get to read about), and there probably won’t ever be an end. So I’ll keep supplying them.

So, one January evening, Christine complains that her key is sticking in the lock of our door. I say I’ll look into it and possibly switch keys with her so that I’m the one who has to deal with the sticky key. Of course I didn’t look into it. The next morning rolls around, and I remember the key thing as I’m leaving for work. With a loud sigh, I go back in and try both keys in the door, with both working. I don’t think anything of it and leave for work. I’m too annoyed that I was delayed 23 seconds to care.

Fast forward to an hour later, and my phone rings. Who could it be? Yep, it’s Christine. The key is stuck in the lock. She’s been trying for 5 minutes to get the key out, and it’s surely stuck in the lock. After some discussion, she gets her keychain off the key and locks the other lock and heads to work. I head up to our apartment to get the key out, not wanting to give free access to our room. I get there, and I have to take the entire lock off the lock and spray Pam (the cooking spray, not the person) in the lock hole to get the key out. You better believe that dang thing works better than new now, though. Moral of the story: grease your locks, people.

It’s cold in New York - so cold that when our cheapskate landlord doesn’t feel like turning on the heat, we have to walk around in parkas and mittens. We have two radiators in our place – one that we leave on all the time and one that we normally keep off, because when the heat actually is on, it’s ON. So, in order to stimulate some heat throughout our apartment, we turn on the second radiator one fateful day (can you see where this is going?) to allow some steam heat to warm the place up. Christine’s mom and bro are in town, so we leave to go to the museum for the afternoon, having high hopes that we can return to a cozy apartment.

Christine and her mom arrive first to the scene. A faint sound of a fire alarm can be heard in the hallway, but nothing is thought of when they go to the door, because, if the fire alarm was going off in our apartment, then surely the neighbors would say something or try to check it out. Nope. They don’t check it out. They’re in their own world, and when the door opens, a wave of steam and smoke-like material pours out into the hallway. Visibility is down to about 2 or 3 feet, so Christine has to hold her breathe and blindly feel her way into the apartment to shut off the steam heat. A pool an inch thick of condensation is lying at the base of our kitchen table. Pictures and windows are completely steamed over. I get a call with a single sentence: “Eric, get home NOW.”

I know “this kind of stuff happens,” but seriously? What else is going to happen here? All for the sake of comedy, folks.

With more cheery notes – it has snowed a lot this winter, and the snow fall is pretty beautiful in New York. On one such snowy Saturday, Christine and I made the trek through the concrete jungle to spend time in Central Park. Our goal was sledding, but we forgot one key thing for that: a sled. So, we did what all New Yorkers tend to do, and that’s try to use a garbage bag. The snow was a little too thick though, and after trying to smooth away about 15 feet of snow with the weight of my behind, we gave up on the sledding escapade and turned towards more important things, like building a spectacular igloo.

We set off to work mid afternoon, with hopes that our efforts could finish before sundown. We worked tirelessly hauling snow and packing ice into the perfect formation for an icy oasis. We lost feeling in our hands 15 minutes after we started – but we pushed through till the end to make it happen.

What became of our attempts turned out to be one of the greatest sights that these weary eyes have ever taken in The warmth of our own igloo rejuvenated our spirits. There were a group of kids building an igloo across the field from ours, and ours was totally better, like no comparison.

Ok, so I promise I'll update more. Stay tuned.

It's CHRISTMAS time again, Charlie Brown! (and a New Year!)

¡Feliz Navidad! and: Prosit Neujahr!

Officially, 2009 is, as they say, in the books. It was a pretty good year. Some things happened worth mentioning: UC Bearcats went undefeated in football (until the bowl game, let's not go there), and something else I can't seem to remember that I think is kind of important....oh yeah, we got married! So it was a great year. And a great decade. That's why we decided to go out with a bang this year, spending Christmas in Cincinnati with family and friends, and watching the ball drop in New York (not Times Square) for New Years Eve.

Christmastime. It really is the most wonderful time of the year, isn't it? Family, friends, food, fun, and folly (alliteration). We were actually able to go home to Cincinnati this year, so we decided to make the most of it and take 5 days and experience all that Cincinnati has to offer (mainly the three trips to Skyline in 5 days, a trip to LaRosa's, and Montgomery Inn sauce). Some of you may have actually joined us, but on the Tuesday before Christmas we got together in Mt. Adams to hang out, eat, drink, and benefit the Leukemia society in the celebration of the late Bill Kramer. I'll let the pictures do the talking here, people. Thanks to all who came out - we raised ~$400!!

This Christmas (I gave you my heart...) we had the pleasure of traveling cross-City multiple times. Our families don't really all live close to each other - thanks, guys. Thanks for making it difficult for us. We were, however, able to drive the Plageman's sweet new car and drag race some high schoolers down on River road with it. So, in the end, it was worth all the traveling. Christmas Eve was spent split between the two families, and pictures of course were taken.

Christmas day! The joy of awakening to see the tree and all its splendor! The smell of cookies, and bacon, and presents and joy! *cue Charlie Brown Christmas theme* We started the day off opening gifts at the Wolf abode, and made our way to the Plageman side of the family by lunchtime. We had a great time seeing everyone - even though there never seems to be enough time for anything, anymore.

Christmas day at the Mayhaus family turned into a dance party before you could even blink. For those keeping score at home, I 'won' the dance-off between Emily and I. Christine had some good looking moves too. Those who didn't have good looking moves? My dad and uncle Bill. No offense, guys.

Snow Tubing. The essence of all things wintery and Christmastime. And fast becoming both of our family's new holiday tradition. This was so much fun. Highlights of this was the 18 and 20 person train that got to go down the hill at the same time, crushing every downhill speed record on the way. Many friends and family alike joined us. If you see yourself, holler.

Christmas was great - 5 days wasn't nearly enough time to spend at home and see everyone, but it was a good time. Of course our flight was delayed on the way home. Did you really think it wasn't going to be? Luckily we had an early enough flight that we still got in early enough to New York. There's always something with this City...

With only a 3 day break (for our sanity), Charlie and Katie flew up to New York to hang out for New Years Eve. We tried something a little different this year. We actually went to see the ball drop. I know what you're thinking - "That's crazy!" Yes, it is, but we weren't in Times Square. We watched it drop from 59th street and 7th avenue - a full 17 blocks away, but all the fun with half the craziness. Right behind us, fireworks were set off as well. It was a New Year's Eve wonderland. The best part was trying to get back to the subway and home. The subway station was the most crowded I've ever seen it, but we somehow got through fairly quickly and made it home in one piece. Check that off the list of things to do before we leave New York....

Katie had never been to NYC before this trip, so we did it up in style. Restaurants, subway trips; you name it, we did it (within reason). We went shopping on 5th avenue. When I say "we" I mean Christine and Katie shopped while Charlie and I wandered around for 25 minutes looking for a street gyro. It tasted delicious when we found it, as it usually does. We also went to see one of Broadway's most famous plays: Phantom of the Opera! What a great show, indeed. Our trip there, however, was not so great. We had great plans to go eat dinner right across the street from the theater at John's Pizza, take our time and casually walk across the street to see the show. Nope, it didn't happen. We get there, and the place is totally packed. So, we decide to walk a bit to find a place. The only issue with this plan is that it was 8 degrees out with hurricane-like winds whipping through the streets and alleys. I don't think i could feel my entire body when we finally stumbled into a restaurant.

On another note, Katie and Charlie were able to feel our pain as their plane was delayed leaving New York. What a great city for traveling!

Sorry this wasn't updated earlier. As you may notice, it's about a month late. I vow to make a better stance at posting blogs. We've had some funny stories, and I'm sure everyone is on the edge of their seat waiting to see what happens next. Stay tuned.....

The Cooking of the Great Bird

Thanksgiving. Some remember it for a time to be with family and celebrate life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Others about Pilgrims, Native Americans, and the harvest. Still others choose to celebrate the Holiday strictly for the eating of delicious foods that make you pass out while watching football. Whatever reason, a day for thanks.

This year's Thanksgiving was unlike any other. For starters, it was the first time Christine and I made our attempt at cooking a turkey. For seconds, Justin and Jennifer Little also graced us with their presence for the Great American Holiday. Just look at them. Who wouldn't want to let them live with you in a small apartment for 5 days? Well, I guess we did anyway. Little (no pun intended!!!!) did we know, that this would come back to haunt us....

What can now be considered "par for the course," the Little's arrived at our apartment after hours (for those of you who don't remember their visit last year, see this post). Once again, I tried to stay up for them, but it wasn't happening and I fell asleep on the couch. But, they arrived without a hitch, and pretty much went straight to bed. The day before Thanksgiving was surprisingly an easy day. Christine had to work (bor-ing!), so JJ and I went to the store for some preparations and hung out in the City. It was fun. It was kind of rainy, but, you know, "fun." A mostly uneventful day, we made our way to the main event...

The morning was brisk. As the sun was just starting to peek over the horizon, Jenny and Justin were up and heading down to watch the infamous Thanksgiving Day Parade. Personally, Christine and I were more than content with watching it on TV...with our pajamas on...in the warmth...with a cup of coffee...and with personal space. Anyways, we had a grand task to take on of our own: The Cooking of the Great Bird.

I'll go ahead and say it. I didn't know what I was doing. I don't think Christine really did either. But hey, we can cook, so how hard could it be? Duh duh duhhhhnnnn!

The first step is to scoop the innards out of the turkey. This is gross/not gross depending on how you look at it. It really wasn't that bad, if you ask me. The biggest problem was that I had hardly any help on the matter because Christine was "totally grossed out, Eric!!!!" Good thing I'm a man and can handle literally anything. So we de-gut the bird and put it in the oven, leave it for 6+ hours, taking it out every once in a while to make sure it's "moist." Repeat until ready. This is about the time that Jenny and Justin returned from the parade. I sadly gave up my cooking duties and went out and unfortunately had to watch football and eat hors d'oeuvres with Justin. Justin and I also had "grocery store duty," which means we made no fewer than 8 emergency trips to the store in order to save Thanksgiving.

Benjamin Franklin Wietmarschen and Jenny-Beth Thomas were kind enough to join us, looking dapper as ever. Cute as a button, those two are.

After some delectable finger food that Christine made perfectly, it was onto football time for the dudes. It's not a big deal or anything, but I dominated Justin and Ben. DOM-inated. But, after about an hour, we made our way back to the apartment to help with the Holiday preparations.

Then something happened. Something that will forever stay in our minds for the rest of Thanksgivings to come.

"Christine, I don't know what the deal is, but every time I pull the turkey out of the oven, it seems to be dripping all over the place. Am I that uncoordinated?"

*rolls eyes* "Just put the turkey in the oven."

"But this smoke - what's going on...oh my GOSH!!!!!! there's a leak in the turkey pan! Call the fire department, this one's out of control!"

Yes folks, you read correctly. We were almost smoked out of our small apartment with this mishap. To make things better, the food wasn't done, so we had to sit in the apartment while the smoke just pumped out of the oven. But, to look on the brightside, us men were called into the kitchen to save the day ONCE AGAIN. We looked cuter than ever in our aprons. Our Man-prons, if you will. And, we saved the turkey.

The food was great. The smoke may have caused us eye and lung problems, but the food was fantastic. Take a look at some of the pictures and try not to salivate.

What a fun Thanksgiving! Although we missed the family dearly and wished we could have home with everyone, it was still nice to feel a little like home with such great friends to visit. And it was sad to see Thanksgiving end, but you know what season starts as soon as Thanksgiving ends...........CHRISTMAS!!!! We'll see you all soon!