On December 31, I went to ALDI to stock up on supplies for the holiday. I caught the 704 bus and rode it two stops (a 5 minute ride v. a 15 minute walk in 30 degrees). The bus comes every 30 minutes, so I only take it if it's going to shorten my trip. Otherwise, I'm just standing outside in the cold. The grocery checkouts are different here. There are two credit card machines. You bag your own groceries. While you're bagging, the clerk rings up the next customer in line. The

Dave and I visited Herrenberg today. I enjoy the small towns surrounding Stuttgart, rather than the city itself. I found Herrenberg by googling "German towns to visit near me." It was only a 30 minute train journey with only one transfer. After our 16 minute walk to the train station, we only had to wait about 10 minutes for our S60 train. We rode two stops and changed to the S1 train. When we arrived five stops later at Herrenberg, I headed for the thrift stores and Dave hea

Two years ago I had never heard of a Christmas Market. A high school friend of mine posted pictures during one of her many travels abroad for work in the military. She and her kids were smiling in an idyllic European village decked out for the holidays and the caption read, "Christmas Market." Fast forward to this September. I get a screenshot from my old boss. Her German friend is looking for a house-sitter over the holidays. Visions of Christmas Markets dance through my hea

While I was shopping for bargains in the thrift shops of Berlin, Dave was taking photos. I am so proud of him. He just started photography in April. Although I tease him, I admire Dave's focus. He enjoys reading photography textbooks and camera manuals. He joined a local photography group in Hilo. He watches YouTube photography tutorials. He learned how to use photo editing software. I think his pictures from Berlin are incredible. He's modest, so at best, he might say he's h

Despite resolutions that we would never travel in the winter again, I got excited this summer when a pet-sitting opportunity for a friend-of-a-friend in Germany came up. So, here we are in Berlin. It has been 30-40F. I thought I would adjust to the cold. I haven't. I bought a scarf at the European thrift chain, Humana. We spent Tuesday morning exploring Rosenthaler Platz near our hotel. My first stop was... a bookstore . My second stop was the Philip-Schaeffer Library. I park