Frankfurt Book Fair Day 1

I met Charlotte T at 11:30 and we walked in together. She wanted to show a couple of publishers her mother's poetry, and though I told her Frankfurt is a rights fair and editors usually don't come, apparently she was able to drum up a bit of interest. I went straight to my favorite hall - 8.0 where all the publishers from the US and UK are.

My first mission was to find ARC (Advanced Reader Copies - proofs of books yet to be published). Last year I got around 10, mostly thrillers, but this year I only got four: Sara Paretsky's new standalone "Bleeding Kansas" to be released in Jan 2008, "The Almost Moon" by Lovely Bones author Alice Sebold (comes out in a few days), "Devil's Peak" by Deon Meyer to be released in March 2008, and a debut novel by 25 yr old Texan Stefan Merrill Block called "The story of forgetting" set for April 2008.

I also collected a few children's book catalogues until I could carry no more, walked around and visited some friendly faces from last year and chatted a while with a couple of reps from Lonely Planet about the Burma situation (LP publishes one of the only travel guides to Burma and are under pressure to pull it to discourage travel there. While I agree that package tours are irresponsible, I think it is essential that independent travellers keep making the trek) and our trip to Zimbabwe earlier this year.

At 3 pm, I met Tracy at the entrance and we went to the Comics section in Hall 3.0 because one of Daniel's favorite illustrators, Ralf Koenig, was signing books there. We waited in line a good half hour before meeting him. He drew a genie for Daniel which Tracy thought looked like her brother-in-law Murray Happer (type his name into wikipedia for a picture) so she got him to draw her one too on a page she ripped off of one of my catalogues.

Then we went to Hall 5.0 because she wanted to look at some Slovakian books for a friend. By this time, my feet and back were about to give out, so I went home.

Guy, my friend Synne's husband, had some meetings at the book fair and since he lives in London, we invited him to stay in our new guest room. So he came around 7 pm and we went out to dinner at our favorite Sushi place. I'm afraid we stayed up a bit too late because we were having so much fun - so I'm exhausted for Day 2... stay tuned.

Daniel and Guy

NO SMOKING!

Those of you who know me know that the main thing that has always bothered me about living in Europe is that everyone smokes everywhere. Often times, I have not attended social events because I did not want to breathe in secondhand smoke. It always annoyed me to go to a restaurant and not be able to enjoy my meal because someone was smoking. So you can imagine my joy at Hessen forbidding smoking in public places effective Oct. 1! Last night, for the first time, Daniel I were at a restaurant and I saw smokers get up from their table and go outside to smoke. All of Germany should be smoke free by Jan. 1st next year (except for Oktoberfest).
By the way, the restaurant we were at is called Pistazie - a place in Bornheim specializing in persian food - very delicious. We will go back.
The Frankfurt book fair starts this week - it is one of my favorite things about Frankfurt so I bought a season ticket good for all 5 days. Can't wait!

Kartoffelfest

Germany is known for its many festivals celebrating everything from holidays (Christmas market, carnival) to alcohol (Oktoberfest, wine festivals in the Rheingau). We went to Hausen (where Daniel's mother lives) yesterday to its famous potato festival. Stands were set up selling potatoes in all their incarnations and you could buy an orange sack and harvest your own potatoes from the fields. We didn't get any, because as much as I like potatoes, I don't like to keep them around due to my irrational fear of potato eyes.

On our way back to Frankfurt, we stopped by the side of the road and bought some Federweisser (fermenting grape juice) and Zwiebelkuchen (onion cake) - one of the best parts of autumn in my opinion. We also enjoyed driving through the forests with all the leaves on the trees changing colors - very pretty!

The Decemberists at Batschkapp, Frankfurt

After a pretty lazy weekend where I mostly vegged (Daniel was more active - and we did have Daria over for lunch on Sunday), we ventured out once again last night to that hot, loud concert venue, the Batschkapp (we saw the Lemonheads there a few months ago, you might recall), to see the Decemberists - an indie folk-rock band who just had their major label release "The Crane Wife". We don't have that CD, we only have "Her Majesty the Decemberists" and naturally, they did not play anything from that album. But I have to say, these guys put on an entertaining show. Even though I did not recognize a single song, I still had a really good time and was very impressed. Daniel also really enjoyed it and we'll definately be getting some more of their music.

The lead singer was also really talkative and funny. Here's a quote - "Thanks for coming out tonight. It might have been embarrassing for us if you hadn't. Of course you'd have been a lot more comfortable at home, sitting on a sofa. But we're glad you came."

The setlist (I might have missed a song or two):
Oceanside (***)
Close to you (short, playful cover of the carpenters song - incomplete)
July, July (***)
We both go down together (****)
Engine Driver (****)
Shankhill butchers (****)
Crane Wife 1 + 2 (***)
Island (**)
The Perfect Crime #2 (**)
O Valencia (***)
Sixteen Military Wives (**)
After the bombs (***)

Encore:
Glacier Bay (cover?)
The Mariner's Revenge (**)

**** Exellent - going to buy on itunes now - I recommend you check it out
*** Very entertaining live and will probably buy
** Good song but probably wouldn't listen to it very often

It's always inspiring to see great shows - whether it be concerts, art exhibitions, book readings, etc.

Oh - I also finished a book this weekend - Michael Palmer's The Fifth Vial (Thanks Linda!). It was sooo exciting I didn't put it down until it was finished. More fodder for those organ harvesting urban legends :)

Rudi and Nicole's Wedding

Let me tell you a few things about German weddings (I have now been to a few). There is always someone who is organizing activities for the guests that have to do with giving something to the bridal couple. The most popular activity is the guest book picture album. They set up an area where attendees get their picture taken, usually with a theme (not something the bride picked out, don't worry) and "fun" costumes.

Can you guess the theme at Rudi's wedding from this picture of us?

Another popular activity is the "postcard a week for a year" where each attendee takes a postcard and sends it to the couple on the week indicated so that they can remember the joy of their wedding the whole year long. This time, we even got a blank postcard that Daniel can draw on.

A couple of times (including this time) we've gotten to do the "wedding time capsule" in which everyone is given a questionaire about what the bridal pair's future life will be like. Then, responses are locked away in a box and the couple opens it years later and presumably hilarity ensues.

What else? Oh there are the speeches given by the parents with pictures of the couple as kids (we did this too - Daniel's father is German after all!). And if "scouts" are guests, then the couple is serenaded for anywhere from 10 minutes (the length of last Saturday's concert) to more than half an hour (at Craig and Heike's wedding).

Not at this wedding, but I have also experienced puppet shows, belly dancers and an amateur painter activity.

This was the 3rd wedding we've been to that was done as a two for one with a baptism. Rudi and Nicole's daughter is named Sophia Nora, is 6 months old, and has an awesome stroller with cup holders (bought in Canada - where they've been living the past 3 years). She is such a sweet baby. Here's a picture of her with her cousin Jaron:

Farewell to Steve

So we've said goodbye to many good friends over the past couple of years...

Jeremy moved to London, Chris moved to Cologne (and maybe we'd even see him more often if he wasn't always going to the Congo), Heather moved to D.C. in January, Kelly moved to D.C. this summer and now Steve is going (to D.C. of course, you did see that they got married?).

For his last evening, we went to the Greek restaurant near his place in Dornbusch which he calls Giorgio's (not the real name). Giorgio got so excited when I recited the "bean soup poem" my mother taught me in Greek - it was so cute. Anyway, we had good food and great conversation. We're going to miss you Steve!

See you in D.C. at the end of October...

Tax time

Been busy sorting everything out for my German taxes the past week (due at the end of the month) as well as working and polishing all the wood floors. Very exciting stuff!

Just finished Two Caravans (a.k.a Strawberry Fields in the US) by Marina Lewycka. Charlotte gave it to me for my birthday this year. It's about exploiting illegal immigrants in the UK - a hot topic these days - and focuses on several characters of various nationalities and their experiences in different industries (the poultry industry especially is not shown in the best light - it's almost enough turn me off chicken forever...). The plot is a pretty convoluted and a lot of sad events are described in an almost comical tone which can be a bit off-putting, but it is a page turner and worth a read. I can also recommend the movie "Dirty Pretty Things" which is on the same topic and quite a thriller.

We're off to another wedding tomorrow! This time it's Daniel's cousin Rudolf and the location is Bonn...

Craig and Heike's wedding

We know Craig from the Zentropy Partners days (also where Daniel and I met) and though he lives in Chicago now, we keep in touch. He came to our wedding last year, so you might recognize him from there (if you were there). He actually married Heike 2 years ago in the states, but they wanted to do a church wedding in Germany for her family and friends so they organized an event in the Bodensee area (extreme south of Germany on Swiss border) where she is from.

We drove down with Felix (also from the ZP era) and Sara, and though we thought we had plenty of time to get there, we got stuck in a long STAU (traffic jams common here) and were not doing well on time at all. We ended up changing our clothes for the wedding at a wooded rest area and arriving at the church about 20 minutes late. Not that we missed much since it was a catholic wedding and nearly 2 hours long (included a baptism for their 2 1/2 month old daughter Zoe).

They had a great getaway car - a 1930 Ford! We were lucky enough to also get a short ride around town in it. Here are a couple of pictures:

Felix in the front seat

Daniel, Lenore and Sara in the back

The reception was in a church that instead of being restored was simply made into a banquet hall. It looked really cool. And the food was amazing. I was full after the appetizer course, but since the main course was veal with spatzle and chantrelle mushrooms - I ate even more. And then the desserts!! Dancing started around midnight. We left about 2:30 am but Felx and Sara stayed til the end, about 4 am.

We also got a chance to walk around the boardwalk at the lake which was nice. It's an area that's worth going back to, for sure.

The mini-ZP reunion picture

Garden parties and fireworks

Last weekend, we were invited to a housewarming party at my friend Shailia and her husband Heiko's place. They have a beautiful garden (yard) where they had set up tents. My favorite feature was the little creek that runs behind the house, perfect for keeping the beer cold.

Then this weekend I had to work so Daniel got to see 30 wild boars in Hausen (where his mother lives) without me. Boo hoo.

I did take a little break to meet Tracy for brunch at NYC on Sunday. I had only planned to stay an hour - but NYC had other plans. It took us half an hour to get our menus, which is a little longer than typical, but didn't have us worried. Then at the hour point, Tracy and Daniel got their drinks finally, but I didn't get mine. It showed up at about 1 hr 20 min, right about when Marshall joined us, figuring we'd be done. At this point, Daniel is REALLY hungry and not too keen on waiting any longer (I knew we'd have some wait, so ate a snack before coming). But the (rude) waitress assures us our food will come soon. Meanwhile people who arrived after us are getting their pancakes, eating their pankcakes and leaving part of their pancakes on their plates when they leave. We even discussed eating those leftover pancakes. Finally, nearing the 2 hr point with no food in sight, we asked to speak to the manager. We were told the manager would be there in a while so I said we'd just go eat at the festival going on at the river (just down the street) and we'd be back. We were asked if we were going to pay for our drinks. And I said "I think that is something I will discuss with the manager". Anyway, we got food at the festival and came back. Daniel wanted to practice his confrontational skills, so we let him do the talking. Suffice to say, we did not pay for our drinks nor will be back at NYC anytime soon...at least not until my cravings for a good hamburger overrule my better judgement.

We came back later that evening to go with Tracy and Marshall to the fireworks display at the river that marks the end of the Museumsufer Festival. I hadn't been that close in years (usually we watch from our balcony), so I enjoyed it.

I haven't been reading as many books as I usually do lately, but I have read some. Here's a list:

Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier (a housewarming gift from Jay - and a spooky one at that! It's a classic and well worth the read.)

Little Earthquakes - Jennifer Weimer (So many of my friends have little kids, so thought it might be interesting. Was pretty good.)

Glasshouse - Charles Stross (A sci-fi about a future culture recreating our time period - very interesting!)

Still Life with husband - Lauren Fox (A depressing "chick-lit" book about cheating - did not like, but did finish)

Everyone worth knowing - Lauren Weisberger (The follow-up to Devil Wears Prada. Like a train wreck you can't look away from.)

What the Dead Know - Laura Lippman (Mystery novel about a woman who claims to be one of the sisters kidnapped 30 years before. Excellent!)

and I just finished...

The Other Boleyn Girl - Philippa Gregory (Historical fiction about Anne's sister Mary and their relationship with Henry the 8th. Very interesting!!)

Got a lot of books that I want to get to soon... and just so bsuy with work right now...

Kelly and Steve's Wedding

The heatwave continued in Alabama. I arrived in Birmingham for the wedding on Thursday in time for the rehearsal. Kelly and Steve had asked me to be their scripture reader and I wasn't sure at first if I should do it. On the one hand, I do like reading, don't mind public speaking and enjoy the bible. On the other hand, Song of Solomon is a difficult read (with all the leaping across mountains and bounding over hills) and I'm always rejected for voice-over jobs because my voice is too nasal. I decided to go for it though, since it seemed to be important to them.

So I gave the wedding party and relatives a little sneak peek at the rehearsal. After the rehearsal, we had a yummy barbeque dinner at Kelly's aunt's and then the bridemaids and I threw Kelly a "bachlorette/shower" at the country club cottage we got to stay in. All the girls are a lot of fun so I really had a good time and most importantly, Kelly did too.

Friday morning, we were at the salon to get Kel's hair done (and my eyebrows plucked - finally!) and at the make-up counters at the mall for make-up (Kelly got hers done at the Bobbi Brown counter, while Susan and I hit Lancome and Laura and Ashley went to MAC). Then we went for lunch together and went back to the cottage to get ready. I felt really blessed to be able to spend so much time with Kel on her wedding day in such a relaxed fashion!

The wedding was lovely of course, and my reading was apparently magnificent (everyone came up to me and said so at least - in fact, someone told me I should become a professional). The reception was next door with delicious food (shrimp and grits could get me to move permanently to the south!) and a live band. After Steve and Kel drove happily off into the sunset, a few of Steve's Penn friends and the bridesmaids crew went out for an "after party" where some of us played pool, and some of us (me)watched.

Bridesmaids crew after the wedding: Laura, Tommy (Laura's husband of two weeks), Ashley, Lenore and Susan (photo credit Jorge)

The next day, I went to the brunch at Kelly's grandparents house but left after only 45 min so I'd be on time for my flight out of Atlanta. And now I am back in Frankfurt!