From Europe to Africa in America - A Sisters' Expedition

[Flossbolna]

potatoes are just the best food in the world

Strange that we really are sisters - considering that I refused to eat potatos as a kid...

I think so , too. And I forgot to mention that they were huge!!!!

Yes, it seems that Disney shrimps have now become your new standard for shrimp size...

 

[lovealldisney]

Even here in Germany I always notice a difference in "speed of life" between rural areas and big cities. But with the exception of New York and San Francisco, I found every other place I visited, even big cities like Miami and Los Angeles to be "slow" compared to Germany.

Really??? I would have thought the opposite. Hmmm... I'm making a note to make sure I write about this in my trip journal for our upcoming Germany trip.

it always seemed that the American customers were happy to wait while in Germany there would already be some muttering.

My DH and I are the same way. So count 2 americans that don't like to wait in lines! Maybe it's our German heritage??? I think we'll fit right in when were there!

It is much nicer to stand in lines with Americans than with Europeans

Thank you. I must admit I have to agree. That is why we'll never go in August again. It seemed like everyone from Europe and South America were there when we went in August. I to agree that the people from the UK were great and so nice to talk to.

 

[kid-at-heart]

potatoes are just the best food in the world

I agree, potatoes and bread. Yum!

 

[PNO4TE]

Magdalene and Katharina - I was so happy to read an update this morning!

 

[All7OfUs]

Potatoes. Need. Sauce.

Any kind will do.


Bread- If I have to.


I dream of shrimp. LOVE it! Any way cooked (yes! I've learned my lesson there! ) and deveined as well. Did you ladies check?!

 

[podsnel]

Nice update! Caeser salad is VERY popular here- I went to Scotland with 3 friends a few years ago, and one of the women kept trying to order caeser salad everywhere, then was upset when it wasn't "right". I guess I'm lucky I like to try all the things a country has to offer food-wise, and experience new things I wouldn't be able to try at home. The rest of us were busy eating haggis, bangers & mash, tatties &meeps and lamb pies, but she just kept on asking for those salads and getting mad they weren't like what she was used to. Glad you like a little adventure in your dining!

Looking forward to whatever it is you've been dying to tell us about!

Hey- are you having any issues in Germany with the Iceland volcanic ash? Or are you far enough west that it's not affecting you?

 

[cannp123165]

Just caught up - great TR so far! We stayed in AKL a few years ago and loved it. Looking forward to the next installment.

 

[kschafer]

I somehow overlooked the last couple updates so I'm thrilled to see you have finally landed and arrived to AKL! I agree with you about salad. I love a good Ceasar salad and I think part of the reason is because I like the dressing evenly distributed.

I'm very excited for your dining reviews because I am going to several of the same restaurants on my trip...I'm just afraid you won't get to them before I leave. SO I have to ask this question...I have 1 solo dinner and I was able to get an ADR for Flying Fish but I debating between keeping it or trying for a seat at the counter at California Grill. Which meal did you prefer?

 

[TyRy]

Great updated ladies. I'm really glad you're doing the report with the dining reviews...makes it easier to keep track of updates.

Can't wait to hear the story you have coming up!

 

[annichan]

Hey- are you having any issues in Germany with the Iceland volcanic ash? Or are you far enough west that it's not affecting you?

I'm not Flossbolna or nodnol, but we certainly do have problems regarding the volcanic ash - absolutely all international airports in Germany have now cancelled all flights (it started with Northern German Hamburg airport stopping all operations yesterday, finally reached Munich way down south this night, and by now it affects the whole country). It's rather eerie, really ... A bit like in a science-fiction movie! I'm only happy that I don't have any flights planned these days ...

 

[Flossbolna]

Hey- are you having any issues in Germany with the Iceland volcanic ash? Or are you far enough west that it's not affecting you?

I'm not Flossbolna or nodnol, but we certainly do have problems regarding the volcanic ash - absolutely all international airports in Germany have now cancelled all flights (it started with Northern German Hamburg airport stopping all operations yesterday, finally reached Munich way down south this night, and by now it affects the whole country). It's rather eerie, really ... A bit like in a science-fiction movie! I'm only happy that I don't have any flights planned these days ...

Yes, and it is even going to affect this TR!

A friend of mine was supposed to come and visit me over the weekend - I told her to come by plane instead of taking the 5.5 hours train trip from Munich. She is still in Munich and I have plenty of time to continue writing the TR!!

It is really strange to know that no planes are flying in most of Europe. Our chancellor was visiting the USA over the last days and her plane on the way back had to divert to Lisbon in Portugal. She now has to spend the night there and they hope that she will be able to fly back tomorrow... It really isn't just an issue of closed airports - they actually closed down the airspace above most of central and northern Europe...

I don't know wether it was in the news in the US, but the Polish president (and everyone else on the plane, including his wife and other high dignitaries) died last Saturday in a plane crash in Russia when he was travelling to a memorial ceremony in Katyn, where during WW II about 22.000 Polish people were killed by the Soviets. The state funeral is supposed to be held in this coming Sunday in Krakow in Poland and since he was the head of state, other European governments (and from what I read now, also the president of the US) of course all planned to attend. Now it is unclear wether they are able to get there since Poland has closed down its air space as well as of now.

More replies tomorrow, and an update!!

 

[glennbo123]

potatoes are just the best food in the world

I totally agree!!!

I missed a couple of days so am getting caught up. Glad to hear you liked your room in Jambo House.

Can't wait to read your next installment, it sounds like it's going to be good!

 

[Flossbolna]

Really??? I would have thought the opposite. Hmmm... I'm making a note to make sure I write about this in my trip journal for our upcoming Germany trip.

Well, your perception might be different. The same things might appear different if looked at from different perspectives. For example there was a study during or after WW II where American soldiers stationed in the UK claimed that English girls were very "easy", but the English girls said the same about the American soldiers. It came down to a communication problem...

I think you might find Germans "less friendly" than Americans. Not because they really are, but because certain little things aren't important to us, like a shop attendant saying "have a nice day" when you leave the shop. These kind of small niceties are taken as "insincere" here. I hope this doesn't sound to horrible, I am just trying to say that what might appear unfriendly to you might not be meant that way.

I agree, potatoes and bread. Yum!

Potatoes. Need. Sauce.

Any kind will do.


Bread- If I have to.


I dream of shrimp. LOVE it! Any way cooked (yes! I've learned my lesson there! ) and deveined as well. Did you ladies check?!

I totally agree!!!

I see - opinions about potatoes are divided...

Katharina will have to tell you about deveined or not shrimps. I don't eat those...

Bread I rather like a lot. And this is one thing Germany is proud of doing very well. We have a huge variety of breads - from dark rye to soft white. I think I did a post once on this in one of my old dining reviews... must search for it... Here it is: http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=19076188&postcount=94 it's in the text about Cali Grill's bread... Not as extensive as I thought it was. I guess my style has changed a bit over the last three years...

Nice update! Caeser salad is VERY popular here- I went to Scotland with 3 friends a few years ago, and one of the women kept trying to order caeser salad everywhere, then was upset when it wasn't "right". I guess I'm lucky I like to try all the things a country has to offer food-wise, and experience new things I wouldn't be able to try at home. The rest of us were busy eating haggis, bangers & mash, tatties &meeps and lamb pies, but she just kept on asking for those salads and getting mad they weren't like what she was used to. Glad you like a little adventure in your dining!

Looking forward to whatever it is you've been dying to tell us about!

How strange... But this reminds me of my bread post above... very often German tourists just complain that they can't get real bread in the USA (or many other countries) instead of just enjoying what is on offer! I think you and your other travel mates did just the right thing! There will be so many opportunities after a trip to eat the stuff one is used to.

I somehow overlooked the last couple updates so I'm thrilled to see you have finally landed and arrived to AKL! I agree with you about salad. I love a good Ceasar salad and I think part of the reason is because I like the dressing evenly distributed.

I'm very excited for your dining reviews because I am going to several of the same restaurants on my trip...I'm just afraid you won't get to them before I leave. SO I have to ask this question...I have 1 solo dinner and I was able to get an ADR for Flying Fish but I debating between keeping it or trying for a seat at the counter at California Grill. Which meal did you prefer?

Oh, this is difficult... These two really are my two favourite restaurants in WDW. I think for us this trip FF was better than CG (and that's true for 2009 as well). CG has a bit more the air of: we know that we are very special, while FF for us felt more like the restaurant I could imagine to become my standard "celebration" restaurant for birthdays and such if I lived in Orlando. I personally don't think that the fireworks from CG are such a great thing. Wishes is much better from Main Street. And watching Wishes out on the balcony of the CG alone surrounded by couples and families might make you feel a bit lonely... So I would say go with the restaurant where the menu appeals more to you, in the end you go there to eat!

Katharina, what do you think?

Magdalene and Katharina - I was so happy to read an update this morning!

Just caught up - great TR so far! We stayed in AKL a few years ago and loved it. Looking forward to the next installment.

Great updated ladies. I'm really glad you're doing the report with the dining reviews...makes it easier to keep track of updates.

Can't wait to hear the story you have coming up!

I missed a couple of days so am getting caught up. Glad to hear you liked your room in Jambo House.

Can't wait to read your next installment, it sounds like it's going to be good!

Ok, next update coming up!!

 

[Flossbolna]

Sorry, this is another pictureless update, but you will soon find out why... and I promise lots of pictures in the next updates!

Katharina had set the alarm in her mobile phone and when it went off at 6:30 am I was feeling really horrible and tired. I was a bit surprised since normally even with too little sleep my internal body clock would be at lunch time already, so at least waking up never was a problem with jet-lag before. But we got to bed much later than I had hoped for the day before and of course it was still dark outside. So the excitement about going to AK got me out of bed and under the shower, hoping that once the sun came up, I would feel better. Freshly showered I told Katharina to get up (which she grudgingly did) and went off with our refillable mugs to get some hot tea and pastry for breakfast and to get the room key issue sorted out...

Walking along the hallways I was wondering why it was still so dark outside... And then I met a CM whom I had already seen in the hallways the night before when we walked back from the Mara. I was wondering how long shifts these poor people had to work... So I thought I'd be really friendly and wished him “Good Morning” - and he being a friendly CM said to me in exactly the same moment: “Good Evening”. I found that a bit cheeky... Then I glanced at my watch thinking that we might have gotten the time mixed up. At first I really had difficulty to read my watch correctly. It did not show 7:05 am... I was wondering wether we had slept through a whole day and it was already in the evening of the next day. Once I had figured out in my rather tired brain that it was indeed 1:05 am I was in shock!! Katharina had set the alarm in her mobile without switching the clock in the mobile phone. So it was 7:05 am in Germany, but 1:05 am in Florida!

I was soooo relieved that I could go back to bed and sleep for nearly another six hours!! I was feeling so lousy, but that was really no surprise with less than two hours of sleep! So I rushed back to our hotel room where Katharina was just coming out of the shower and told her to check the clock at the night stand.

Of course both of us had wet hair now, so we just wrapped that in a towel and decided that it would have to do somehow in the next morning. This time we set up an alarm call in the telephone (for 7:00 am this time, we already had our morning shower!).

Maybe I should explain... Magdalene told me to set the alarm in the hotel telephone, but as I had never done that before and was really really tired by now, it seemed much to complicated. As I use it regularly at home as an alarmclock it was just a lot easier for me to handle. I had switched my wristwatch to local time, but somehow forgotten about the mobile.

Next: Chapter 7 An early morning at the Animal Kingdom

 

[burly]

That's funny!
Isn't it nice though to be so tired and actually get to go back to sleep. that is bliss.

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

Great updates, as usual!! I love seeing the pictures and reading your interpretations! I had a really big laugh over the "alarm" and getting up at 1:30am!! Poor things! I hope you were really able to go back to sleep, with wet hair and all!

I totally agree about the response you posted about American's and Germans and the perceptions. Where I live in the US, people are for the most part extremely friendly and you're 100% correct - we get "used to" the "Have a nice day's", "good morning", etc. German's aren't that way and agreed, it's a much faster pace. I don't want it to sound like I'm criticizing (because I'm not!) but it is totally different and you just have to be prepared for it. Another funny observation I always experienced is Germans (and some other Europeans) like to stand in line sideways up against each other and most Americans would be appalled at this! We're used to standing in line BEHIND each other and if anyone got too, too close someone might say something. I'm just used to both sides of the fence and it's just an attitude adjustment as soon as you get on the plane!

Speaking of - how terrible for the travellers in Europe (and elsewhere)!!

Looking forward to more updates!!

Heather

 

[glennbo123]

You poor things! That is so funny! There's nothing worse than not getting enough sleep. Too bad you had taken a shower and everything.

I agree with you, sometimes the hotel clocks can be a pain. I usually try to set them for the time I want to get up, and set my cell phone alarm about ten minutes later as a backup in case I didn't set the hotel clock correctly.

 

[swwake]

Oh my goodness - that's a little funny. It's almost like you got an extra "day" out of your trip! Hopefully you went back to bed and got another good 6 hours in.

 

[podsnel]

Soooooo funny about the alarm!! Not so funny about the airspace and volcanic ash- or the plane going down in Russia- very, very sad. Yes, it has absolutely been on the news here, it is a horrific tragedy.
Also sorry your friend has been delayed- hope she arrives soon!

 

[All7OfUs]

Your story about getting up in the middle of the night had me in absolute stitches!! How funny!

I'll bet you needed to get your hair wet again in the (real) morning to get the funky new "went-to-bed-with-my-hair-wet" hair-do out and back to normal.

Katharina, don't feel too badly! I"ve been soooooooooooooooo tired from jet lag, sometimes, I"ve done some really idiotic things too. Brains just aren't meant to function on that little of sleep!!