home sweet prison

When we first arrived at the housing complex in Garmisch (the Abrams)

our living space resembled a prison cell.

It was cold and dank with tall ceilings and neon white fluorescent lights 

that flickered and buzzed when you turned them on.

We had no sink, no bedside tables

and for a brief moment, no refrigerator. 

So when we heard that they were renovating some offices
into new dorm rooms,

we began scheming about how we could score a new room.

Luckily, we had been talking about how fun it would be to room with one of our new girlfriends.

As it turns out, if you're willing to live three people to a room,
rather than two,

they are significantly more accomodating.

{my corner of our humble abode}

{mallory: left, kristan: right}

{kitchen/pantry}

Note, if you will, the brand new "closets" with drawers and shelves!

Also note - bedside tables!

But alas, it's not all sunshine and unicorns in our new room...

{so the blinds suck BUT those my friends

are doors to our personal patio}

{where kristan made a creepy snowman,

to watch me while I sleep}

Auf Wiedersehn!

snow Snow SNOW!

it finally came

in a million white flakes

that blanketed the ground

and turned me into a giggling idiot

Auf Wiedersehn!

Innsbruck, Austria

Today was our first adventure outside the cozy compound

that we've been getting to know over the past week.

For our first trip we wanted something small and simple,

with a low price tag and minimal travel details.

We chose Innsbruck because it only required 1.5 hours of travel,

the train fare was inexpensive

and they have a fantastic christmas market.

Also, because we heard over and over again that it's exceptionally beautiful.

And boy did we hear right...

{disclaimer: this post includes an enormous amount of photos}

{train tickets to Innsbruck}

{first train ride}

{view from the train}

{our friend and travel companion Kristan}

{lunch - pretzel bread sandwiches}

{and nutella filled donuts}

{welcome to Innsbruck!}

{Gluhwein, again!}

{Christmas Market}

{that roof section is made entirely of gold!}

{Christmas trees!}

{the market booths were lined up and down these little alleys}

{bratwurst with mustard and sauerkrat -

sidenote: one bratwurst means one bun, two brats!}

{this was a liqueur shop - all those colorful tubular things

are filled with various flavors of liqueurs and you buy a

container and they fill it up for you!}

{this is a cookie ball - it's as if they took all the leftover

scraps of cookie dough and smushed them together, baked it

and dipped it in chocolate and nuts -

Sidenote: we don't usually eat so many decadent German treats}

{these are our bottles of liqueur - in case you can't read the labels:

Caramel Toffee, Limoncello and Whisky Cream}

{my first cool trinket - a papier mache, handpainted ornament}

{my new Austrian coat - honestly, it's just from H&M

but it was on sale and I was freezing cold}

We had a really exceptional time in Innsbruck but are now exhausted!

We thought that the jetlag would be gone by now

but it's decided to linger around a little bit longer.

Things are going really well in all aspects - work, friends and adventures.

We are currently planning our next trip for early January,

in honor of Mal's birthday.

Currently, we are debating over Venice or Rome but only time will tell.

I'm trying to give details of our travels and experiences

without being too wordy and consequently

boring everyone who is just in it for the pictures.

So if there's anything specific you would like to know

about our work, travels, etc.

email us or leave a comment and we'd be happy to let you know!

Auf Wiedersehn!

Gasthof Werdenfelser Hof

Saturday night we had been here nearly a week

and had yet to experience traditional Bavarian food.

Our new friend dug around and found Gasthof Werdenfelser Hof

and it was delightful

{this is for you Erin}

 there was beer...

and pretzels...

and friends

really great friends...

and enormous portions of schnitzel...

and dancing boys in lederhosen...

and finally dessert, from a German bakery...

Auf Wiedersehn!

when in Germany

We are on day 6 here in Garmisch

and I can already count to ten.

Which is lucky
because as it turns out
not only does everyone speak German,

BUT google, blogger and gmail are all in German.

So are our new vodafones

and the instructions to everything we buy,

as well as the ingredients.

Apparently YouTube hasn't made it to Germany

and neither has Netflix.

We just finished day two of work

and it's getting better.

All of our coworkers are local nationals

and it's helping us to learn German faster.

With the ways things are going

in 13 months I will be able to complain

and tell someone off in both German and Romanian.

Tonight we are going out to traditional German dinner

in Partenkirchen and we're really excited.

I'll post pictures and a recap of the evening later today

or possibly tomorrow.

But for now here's one clear-ish picture of the mountains.

Oh alright, two pictures... 

Auf Wiedersehn!

German Things

Some fun German items...

bratwursts!

housing rules, faqs, contracts...everything I could possibly need

plus house and post office keys, flipped over so no one will

see my room number, come to Germany and try to kill me.

See that mom, we are being safe =)

Euros!

Bell Towers

European Dress (from H&M)

Mountains!

German to US Outlet Converters

German treats!

Vintage German Postcards

Auf Wiedersehn!