Posts (page 2)

happiness is having your friend call to tell you he received a box from berlin that might be yours.  not just any box, but the box containing your favourite, beloved Nikon D70.  the box that was supposed to arrive over a month ago. the box you opted not to put insurance on because it would have cost over $300 to ship two boxes from berlin. the box that made you awake in a mad panic the day after you dropped it off -- realizing it would have been worth paying the extra for insurance. the box that almost made you cry when it didn't arrive with the first box.

ecstatic happiness is opening the box to find that your camera is in fine working condition.

pleasantly surprised is finding all those other trinkets you put in the box that remind you of the awesome month of travelling.

breathing a heavy sigh of relief is what you do when you finally have a moment to process it all.

a few friends have expressed how much effort they put into adding me to their RSS feeder or favourites list -- and that removing me would be a disappointment.  i think this is their way of threatening to remove me as their friend.  and i can't have that.  so here i am.

just remember, you asked for it.

so, since we last met on vox, i had just arrived back in san francisco with my broken arm. the day after i arrived, the doctor took off my cast and threw me right into physical therapy.  this seems to be the general method many people have gone through here in the states.  sorry to disappoint all those hoping to see bionic sara.

it took a bit for my arm to get used to being out of the cast. then, over time, it's memory slowly came back.  a friend would wave at me and my right arm would shoot up to wave back, only to manage a limp flailing of the forearm. another time i bolted awake, in pain, because my right hand was trying to scratch the itch on my face.  only, it couldn't really reach my face.

now, stop your pouting. i want you to know i've laughed at each instance ... even when it hurt. its like standing up only to find out your leg fell asleep. so you topple over because it isn't working the way you expected it to.  sometimes parts of your body take on a mind of their own and all you can do is be amused by your lack of control.

mine is starting to work with me again.  i'm back to typing with two hands, i can chop food again (oh, the stories i could tell there) and its getting straighter by the day.  not so bad for six weeks post-injury.  now, if i could only get my trip photos organized ...

even before breaking my arm i had several conversations with people on my journey about whether things happen for a reason. with all the oddities that came together on my trip i have to believe it's true.  it was as small a moment as having a cycling tour group of four (plus two tour guides) when the usual size is twenty, or that perfect timing where i was with someone at just the right time to help me out.

in fact, i've joked that i had guardian angels throughout my journey: doctors on my cycling trip (i should have brought them to berlin), making a new friend just as i got on an overnight train in italy (only to hear horror stories after),  being able to stop making so many decisions when i got to munich (plus a long hot bath), breaking my arm while staying with best friends (also, translators and fabulous caretakers), given warm grandma-knitted socks and a fancy designer sling from my german family (oh, and all the yummy food!), and then the new friends in amsterdam that magically appeared (seriously) at just the right time to keep me company, pepper my meal, and whisk me off to the airport. even my last stop before home showered me with good friends who took care of me when my arm swelled up and carried my backpack (which started light in berlin and somehow got heavy again).

it's like the butterfly effect where one change makes new elements fall into place. it's all very unpredictable and i can't say i really know every moment of change nor every reason. especially when it comes to my arm. some say it was to slow me down, but i was already doing that on my own. this whole trip was about learning from other people's eye opening moments and taking a chance to travel while i could. others say it was to force me to let someone else take care of me, but i'm still not doing a good job of that. yes, yes, i'm still stubborn. but i'm getting better!

i do believe one reason has been to have a chance to look at life another way. this is my designers brain at work. i have a whole new appreciation for my limbs and for those who take on the daily tasks of life without all of them. perhaps someday all my knowledge from this experience will work itself into my design projects.

in the meantime, i'm back in san francisco staying with one of my guardian angels while i resettle into the city. there are many posts i didn't get to make along the way but i'm sure most of you will hear about them at somepoint. plus, photos will emerge eventually and tell a whole nother tale.

it's official, the rain was not the main reason i didn't like Florence. i spent two and a half rainy days in amsterdam and loved the entire experience. well, maybe not the hotel room that wanted to be hip and looked more like a hostel.  but i fixed that by getting a free upgrade to a slightly better room (thank you, broken arm). the hotel itself (hotel arena) was quite cool. historic on the outside, mod on the inside.

i even enjoyed all the times i got lost. i would walk with confidence about the direction i was going and then find myself on the same corner again. and before you jump to conclusions my lack of direction was not due to visiting what Amsterdam calls "coffeeshops".

it was inspirational museum week for me -- anne frank house, van gogh museum and the rembrandt house. then there was the novel sex museum. more porn than i've seen in my life but i also saw it as a great photograhic exhibit showing a wide span of history.

next time round i'll get out of the city and visit some of the green countryside i saw from the train.

movie theatres in berlin give you assigned seating based on whether you want to sit back, middle or front. i went to see a film and had the best seat ever in the dead center of the theatre.

to top things off i sat there with my half litre of beer, a pretzel and ben and jerry's cookie dough ice cream.

what else could i ask for?

i´m on the move again. i left my sweet, wonderful, extremely patient friends in Berlin this morning. i couldn´t have asked for a better place on this trip to get tied up for a few extra days. outside of the help from my friends, it was great to see them longer and get a feel for Berlin. a really great city that i will try to write more about another day.

tonight i am outside cologne/köln visiting my german exchange sister from high school. we haven´t seen each other in 15 years! she´s married now to a man as generous as she is and they have an adorable 11 month old. today we went to Bonn which I will also write about another day. i can smell the dinner cooking down the hall and so i must go!

i´ve shipped most of my heavy bag home so i can travel light with my backpack. seems to be working so far, so tomorrow to amsterdam. if u have suggestions let me know. i´m there until friday!

this is a post to comment on the city i saw before breaking my arm in münich.

it´s a very beautiful city. and oktöberfest is worth experiencing, although i could think of better things to do with my time. back in the states it would be like a large state fair mixed with the ten different weddings celebrations going on in ten different large tents. each blaring loud music, pouring alchohol and dancing on table tops. oh, and singing. it was good fun to observe and the giant bratwürsts that sit in small bread rolls are delicious!

but, back to the beautiful city. the buildings and streets are quite lovely. nothing too tall and cobblestone sidewalks, which appear to be all over this country. my friend karen suggested i go to the public gardens, so i did. i had heard from others it was worth seeing. none of them mentioned i might find lawns and park benches filled with naked men. karen says she hadn´t seen them but i have a photo, so i know i didn´t imagine it. i found the spots of pink on the lawn quite artsy and was highly amused by the man on the bench, completely naked, with his fully clothed girlfriend´s head resting on his lap.

after further research i was informed this was the norm. a classic münich lunchtime in the park.

i already love my new doctor in san francisco. but that's not actually my good news. it's just the good news comes from her. i sent over hi-res photos of my x-rays and her orthopedic colleague thinks my arm will heal without an operation, which my german doctor had recomended. in fact he might not have even put me in a cast! go figure.

at least the extra armor will protect me while i finish up my travels. some suggest it will gain me more attention, but so far i have to say it only has people staring, not offering to help! a liitle more of germany left, a few days in amsterdam and then a weekend in chicago!

no news on whether i'm heading home early yet. i'm slowly figuring that out. in the meantime i'm also slowly exploring Berlin. it's a beautiful city and huge.  even at full speed i would barely get to scratch the surface of this place.

the city is very laid back. people rarely make a made dash to catch a train and the service at cafes and restaurants is at the pace you set. or, sometimes the pace the server sets if you can't find them. every place i've eaten at has felt so comfortable and i keep wishing i could find more places like them at home.  open, airy, and filled with natural light and/or great colours.

everyone i've meet from the doctors to the shop owners have been friendly and filled with good humor. although, perhaps its because i avoid the ones glaring at me with an evil eye? the ones i love are the ones that say they only speak a liitle German and then rattle off full, perfect sentances.

where they aren't so laid back is in the trash department. i already posted a photo on flickr of the trash bins we had on the train. separate your glass from plastics from composte from everything else. i love it. the friends i'm staying with have the same break down in their apartment complex. i know my family does this at home and some cities like SF offer composte bins along with recycling. but here it appears to be very regulated and monitored.  perhaps the consistency in the design of the bins mixed with the regulations is what works? 

i would take more photos to show you if i could lift my big heavy camera! i think you'll be seeing mostly camera phone shots here on out.

i seriously thought at most that i had just sprained something. toss it in a sling and send me on my way. apparently i needed a litle more drama then that. in fact just breaking my arm wasn't enough. my toss from the bike resulted in a split on a forearm bone near the elbow (also known as a radiusköpfchenfraktür mit dislokation). my lovely German doctor says i'll need to have a pin put in.

i'm not sure yet whether i will stay here a bit or head home soon. i'll figure that out next. luckily i did this while staying with some amazing friends in Berlin and not while I was on my own.  for now the doctor has put on a large heavy blue cast (i had the choice of yellow, blue and white -- yellow would have sent my friend karen running).  just what i needed for the flight home was more weight.  luckily it doesn't count against my luggage weight. i'm sure i'm maxed out!

oh, and for those of you who have asked already, it is my writing hand and i can only type so much with my left! at least i didn't break my funny bone!