From Europe to Africa in America - A Sisters' Expedition

[jenbear123]

Welcome back! I look forward to seeing all those great pictures

 

[TyRy]

I finally managed to get caught up...not so sure how I fell so far behind!

I agree with you about the Contemporary. Having a MK view probably gives a little more Disney magic to the rooms/place, but I felt like we could have been in any upscale waterfront hotel with our Bay Lake View. It just seemed to be missing something.

And I'm a bit schocked that Cali Grille could not accomodate you guys better with the food. I would think that would be one of the places that could. And I really think I substituted the Cous Cous last year for just some plain potatoes. Maybe they were having an off night.

And SE seems to do that to everyone. One year DFIL had a hand sticking out of the side of his head (not his) and this year my friend looked like her hair was sticking right out of the top oh her head...no idea how that happened.

 

[lovealldisney]

Welcome back Glad you had a nice time.

 

[All7OfUs]

So glad you made it back safe and sound. Now just 8 days left of work, and an impending move!! And then--- OUR MEET!

 

[brookelizabeth]

Welcome back!!! So glad to hear you had a great trip.

 

[englishrose47]

Me too waiting for those pix !!!

 

[Flossbolna]

I love to be ahead in writing the TR, but I am not in that situation right now! Lately I've been posting them just after writing them.

It is a great feeling!

Have a great vaca!

Thanks!

Enjoy your vacation!!!

Thank you, I had a great time!

By now, I think you've already left, but in case you give it one more check....



HAVE a SUPER, WONDERFUL time hiking!!!!

Cheerio! And we'll see you when you get back.

Thanks, Liesa! Even though, I never heard a single person in England say Cheerio! But they do say "cheers" instead of "thanks" which absolutely confused me when I first arrived there for university. Now I do it, too. And it think I stocked up on English accent quite a bit for you to experience when we meet!

Have a wonderful time! See you when you get back. (I hope you post pictures)

Thank you! Pictures are just now being downloaded to my computer!

Glad that you enjoyed your meal at CG. It's one of my favorite places to eat at Disney. I like watching the Fireworks from outside too. I had a bit of that detached feeling the time I watched them from inside.

It was a great meal and CG is still a very special place for me, too. I think it might be that you need to hear the explosions for it to feel like a real firework?

 

[Flossbolna]

I LOVE civilization!! We just got our very first free Wi-Fi place a couple weeks ago. Glad you're enjoying yourself so far!! One question: are you going to pick up that fantastic British accent while you're there??

I am impressed that there is free Wi-Fi in your town! Here in Germany there actually isn't very much free Wi-Fi. They mainly want you to pay an hourly fee or so...

See above for the English accent question!

I do remember that, Heather!! I remember you saying you missed it very much! You really need to get back there someday and show DS all around!

I'll definitely keep it in mind that you can help answer questions if we have any. Especially since MagdAlene is out of town. We do keep getting out our tourbooks and come across an unknown once in a while. Glad to see you posting again!

It's always great when readers help each other out on my thread!!

I"m watching the lot of you..... Always watching...

Henry says this, "I'm watching you..." from Monsters, Inc, to me daily. I look like Roz in the morning due to my short hair standing STRAIGHT up!

I was referring to that quote exactly when I wrote it!! I think it's perhaps my favorite movie quote of all time!

I think we all have our "Roz moments".

I loved that! Roz is one of the highlights of the Monsters Inc Comedy Laughfloor for me!

Magdalene - I laughed out loud at your cell phone wanting to type in German, but you attempting to type in English! That cannot be an easy feat!!!

Very annoying! I love my Iphone, but the automatic correcting does not work very well... You would think it would be able to learn words. It still wants me to write my name Magdalena instead of Magdalene. I guess I just ought to go into the settings and switch it off before I type in English. I am just too lazy to do that.

My computer switches to Cyrillic sometimes, and it's so funny what comes out when your trying to type in one language and the Machine wants to do something else.

Eek! At least German and English mainly use the same letters. But this reminds me of when Katharina sends me emails from her work computer, I sometimes get funny letters from her. Especially instead of the German "ü" she often has the Czech "ů" which just looks very confusing to me. I guess as confusing as the ü looks to you!

As long as I REALLY don't look like Roz I'm okay with him teasing me a bit...

I love that line too - and we've been watching it almost daily for 3 weeks now. Though, today he opted for UP!!!! <-- me, jumping for joy!

You don't look like Roz at all!! Up is a great film, but sooo sad in the beginning. I think Pixar is really great at telling moving stories. I am really looking forward to Toy Story 3 which just came out last week in Germany. Katharina and I are going to see it when she returns from Finland.

 

[addictedtothemouse]

Welcome back! I can't wait to see your pictures and read about your trip.

 

[Flossbolna]

I think Liesa was steering you to the Timberline Lodge, at Mt. Hood, which does have an amazing brunch and some fun hiking but you should also consider Salish Lodge and the Snoqualmie Falls when you make your trek out. That way you can see the best of both OR and WA lol!

http://www.salishlodge.com/

It is amazingly beautiful, incredible food, spa, everything. I am biased though, we actually go to Salish a few times a year, and were married there.

Taylor was actually snowboarding at Mt. Hood just 2 weeks ago on the glacier!

Oh, this looks amazing as well! I love those mountain lodges! Much more my thing than any beach resort! And they had some amazing food pictures on their website as well. I guess I need to find a rich husband, though, to afford all those trips to the US to stay in these wonderful hotels - as well as being able to finance my trips to Disney.

Thanks!! . I absolutely can't wait for your trip and to hear what you think about everything. I'm not sure you are into sausage/bratwurst but if you are you guys must have a famous Nuernberg bratwurst! I know Magdalene must have already mentioned this. When do you guys leave?

Free wifi rules Magdalene! I hope you are enjoying your trip so far

Heather

Hi Heather, thanks, I had a great trip! And I intend to send Liesa a list with all the Bratwurst recommendations I can come up with! I think I will have to tell her to try Blaue Zipfel as well (even though I don't really like them, but that's because of the onions).

Say Hi to BIG BEN for me !!!!!

I did!

I though you might be interested in this:

I talked to Magdalene yesterday and she is enjoying London very much. She went to see Buckingham palace yesterday, it was the first day of the summer opening, and she said it was absolutely amazing! She has one more day in London and leaves for Devon on Thursday!

Thanks for posting this! It was really amazing to get inside Buckingham Palace!

We have definitely planned on getting some sausages- most likely our first one will be at the Crafts Yard on our way from the train station to our hotel. WE LOVE brats!

We leave our city on the 15th, and arrive in Nuremberg on the 17th, and we'll have two whole days there!

I can't wait to see all her pix! So glad she can have this break before moving down to Nuremberg in a few weeks!

You will be able to find plenty of brats!

And it was a great break, pictures are going to be available soon!

Thank you for the update! I can't wait for her pictures!!! Sounds fantastic!

It was great! Unfortunately no pictures inside Buckingham Palace... But from other places and they will come soon!

 

[Flossbolna]

Welcome back! I look forward to seeing all those great pictures

Thank you, pictures will come soon, I hope!

I finally managed to get caught up...not so sure how I fell so far behind!

I agree with you about the Contemporary. Having a MK view probably gives a little more Disney magic to the rooms/place, but I felt like we could have been in any upscale waterfront hotel with our Bay Lake View. It just seemed to be missing something.

And I'm a bit schocked that Cali Grille could not accomodate you guys better with the food. I would think that would be one of the places that could. And I really think I substituted the Cous Cous last year for just some plain potatoes. Maybe they were having an off night.

And SE seems to do that to everyone. One year DFIL had a hand sticking out of the side of his head (not his) and this year my friend looked like her hair was sticking right out of the top oh her head...no idea how that happened.

I still like the look of the CR, especially since it was updated. And I think I would like to stay there because of the walkway to the MK, but we agree on the lack of magic side of it!

I don't know what was going on at CG that night. The couscous was actually great for Katharina, mashed potatoes most often have milk in them, so she can't eat them...

Did you get a picture of the hand sticking out of his head? That must have looked hilarious! But you are right, there are some interesting hair styles to be seen on SE!

Welcome back Glad you had a nice time.

Thanks!

So glad you made it back safe and sound. Now just 8 days left of work, and an impending move!! And then--- OUR MEET!

August will be a strange month! I feel a bit like I haven't really much to do at work anymore, just need to tie up some loose ends... And then organizing the move etc... It looks like I will do the actual move now after your visit to Nuremberg. Much less stress and I have two and a half weeks off from work anyway. For some reason I was always thinking that I need to get everything done as quickliy as possible, but that's nonsense. The trip to Nuremberg for your visit will be my monthly trip home (which I get reimbursed) and the appartment here is paid for until the end of August anyway...

Welcome back!!! So glad to hear you had a great trip.

Thank you! It was a wonderful trip!

Me too waiting for those pix !!!

will come soon! But you won't recognize England: it was so dry everywhere! It looks more like Southern France in summer than England: brown gras everywhere!

Welcome back! I can't wait to see your pictures and read about your trip.

Thanks! Pictures will come soon!

 

[Flossbolna]

By now it was 11 am and we could say good-by (for now) to Future World:

We had achieved quite a lot that morning and were now set to explore the World Showcase:

These are from one of the two shops at the entrance to the WS – I guess the shop is called Port of Entry – how fitting!

We started our exploration in Canada (for Marvin: Kanada in German):

We walked through the shop and were very disappointed! Mainly because we could not get any maple candy. Katharina and I love that stuff. We first got it from a lovely lady from Sturbridge, Massachusetts, who was staying with our family for four weeks in the summer of 1988. She was chaperoning a group of teenagers from the US who stayed in our area. We later visited her on our six week long trip to the US in 1992 and bought more maple candy when we were in New England ourselves. I was certain that I had seen it in the Canada shop before, but this time we couldn't find any... We were very sad about that!!

We did not have the patience to wait for the film, but rather wanted to move on to the next country (and thus my tradition of missing the WS films continued – I can tell you now that we did not see a single one of them!).

You won't be surprised to find out that the next country waiting to be explored by us was the United Kingdom (again the courtesy German lesson of the day: Vereinigtes Königreich – but we never use that, we either say Großbritannien (Great Britain) or England (very bad, I know, sorry to all the Welsh, Scots and Irish)! Katharina and I both spent a year at university in England really England
getting a master's degree (I got a boring Master in Law, but she has some really fancy degree! hehe MA in Social Dynamics of Eastern Europe and Russia ). And we have been to the UK on numerous vacations (I was just about to type holidays... I am always trying to use American English, but really the English I learned for most of my life is British English...). So we really had fun checking everything out in England.

We also watched the World Showcase Players (rubbish!). They were very funny! I have seen their show three times now and I think this was the best ever. There is some audience participation and they managed to get some people for that who were really great at it. But also there was a new guy which was excellent. I am not sure whether he was new to me, or whether he was really new. I had heard that some actors from the Adventurer's Club became hired for the World Showcase Players and I was thinking that he might be one of them. He was great at improvising along...

After watching their show we explored the shops a bit more and came across a quiz where you had to find the British English equivalent to American English words (or the other way around??). We could get most of them (I think the simple ones were like truck, movie etc.) But there were two that we just could not figure out: vacuum and pavement. We asked a nice cast member from Liverpool, UK who was able to help us out! There was also a quiz about UK Facts in another shop and we were really good at that, too! We knew all the answers between the two of us!!

We also enjoyed all the “Little Miss” merchandise there:

I was really amused by these last two, if there had been a Mrs Bump then it would be me, I always bump into something and have bruises

And this would be Magdalene, my DH would say. He ist not as close with his siblings as we are, they very seldom call each other. So nearly everytime our phone rings at home in the evening he assumes it is Magdalene and says so.


But I want to point out that I don't own two mobile phones and I am NOT constantly talking on my mobile!!!

Continued in: Chapter 17: Conquering the World (Showcase) Part 2

 

[Flossbolna]

After such a successful visit, we decided to move on to Germany's big neighbour (in real European geography, not in World Showcase geography) – France (or Frankreich as we call it):

There was a Photopass photographer, so we got our picture taken. As you see, it had warmed up a bit, we could take our fleece jackets off.

We did explore a bit here:

We have both been in France several times, but mainly in Southern France. So this isn't really “our” France. But it is pretty! And we really enjoyed the merchandise which is similar to what you would find in France. For some reason I thought the sweets were really interesting (and no, I did not get any!):

And this is the large shop that the film exits into:

Next stop: across the Mediterranean Sea to Morocco (and this is really easy in German again: Marokko):

We were hungry again (it was still only 12:15 pm) and decided that we wanted to have lunch at the Tangierine Cafe. We shared a Chicken & Lamb Combo Shawarma Platter - served with hummus, Tabouleh, and a Tangierine CousCous Salad with Fresh Moroccan bread. We asked for pita bread instead of the Moroccan bread (a tip I had picked up in other's dining reviews):

We liked the spices in this dish. It isn't hot, but has a lot of flavour to it. But unfortunately the meat was not freshly cut, but seemed to have been cut from the skewer (which rotates in front of a grill) some time ago. Also it was cut too thick for our taste. Still, it was good food and I would definitely return.
We might be spoiled the many kebab places in the quarter of Berlin where I live, it is also called Little Istanbul. Berlin has the largest turkish community outside of Turkey and also many people from the Libanon and other Middle East countries live here. They usually cut the kebab after you order and by hand in very thin slices.

After lunch I explored Morocco a bit on my own taking a lot of pictures. I think it is a beautiful pavilion, but the shops really aren't that interesting for me. I think Katharina used the time to take to her DH Remy.

This is an indoor seating area for Tangierine Cafe.

And this is the only picture of merchandise I took, I was amused by these skewers and was wondering what would happen if someone would try to take them with them in their hand luggage!

While I was taking pictures I was amused by the music they played here: Arabic pop, which we hear quite a lot here in Berlin as well since there is a large Turkish population. So it felt a bit like home!

Continued in: Chapter 17: Conquering the World (Showcase) Part 3

 

[Flossbolna]

Once Katharina had come back and had looked around a bit as well we again moved to another country – this time rather far away to Japan (this is easy in German: Japan, just pronounced differently: like Yapan).

I think the Japanese pavilion is very beautiful. I think it is my favourite one in the World Showcase. I would love to travel to Japan one day (its a trip I am actually seriously considering)!

Katharina had been talking about how much she would like to eat at Yakitori House during our planning sessions and I never really got it, especially since the menu does not really appeal to me (I don't eat shrimp). But then I found out it was because she had seen pictures of the outdoor seating area of which I had no memory of. So we went to check it out and I must say that it really is a beautiful setting:

You have to walk up at the koi pond and then it is to the left of the gable you can see here:

We spent quite some time in the shop – so many beautiful things to buy! We loved this tea set:

If I would not have to transport the stuff back by plane I would be so tempted by the bowls etc. they have there...

We also got some Japanese candy:

The bar to the left is some chewy candy stuff which was so wonderful!! You might see another appearance of that stuff later on. The little bags on the right were fruit gummies and we used them as snacks during the trip. They were nice, but not special.

We also had a look at the exhibition there. At that time it was about Japanese World Heritage sites and those were incredibly beautiful pictures. About one picture Katharina and I later agreed that it looked just like in the Alps. The exhibition has changed now, but I would encourage everyone to check out the exhibition in Japan. It isn't a large space, so it won't take you long, but it will be a small insight into the Japanese culture!

And then we decided that we had seen enough for that morning! There wasn't any of the ships which can take you across World Showcase Lagoon anywhere close, so we decided that we would walk back. Which was a good idea because we were able to say hi to Belle:

And to Marie from the Aristocats:

But before we could leave Epcot we still had to use our Soarin FPs from this morning! It was great again! And Katharina had a revelation: During the pre-show she suddenly said to me: “Ah! It's aviator not radiator!” Apparently she understood during the first time that “little radiators” must be especially secured... To be honest, aviators is a rather difficult word and I am not sure I did understand everything correctly the first time I road Soarin over California at DCA!

But then we did leave Epcot for our afternoon break. We had to make our way out of Epcot in the rain, so it wasn't too hard to leave. At the bus stop we met the same family who were the only other people on our bus that morning. I think it is fun how you often end up seeing the same people again and again... They looked as tired as us.

Back in our room we were greeted by a new little critter:

We now had a real zoo:

It was still raining and not very pleasant outside, so no swimming pool or hot tub that day. Instead I worked on the notes for this TR (even the most basic notes do need some dedication I realized again and again) and Katharina was sorting our receipts into her Passporter. We also got some tea in our mugs! Did I mention that I love the refillable mugs, especially if I have a CS so close as Mara was to us. I think this is one of the things which make me hesitate to go to a value or moderate resort: The distance to the food court!

Next: Chapter 18: Whirlwind Tour of the Boardwalk (coming soon!)

 

[mebbradley]

We might be spoiled the many kebab places in the quarter of Berlin where I live, it is also called Little Istanbul. Berlin has the largest turkish community outside of Turkey and also many people from the Libanon and other Middle East countries live here. They usually cut the kebab after you order and by hand in very thin slices.

While I was taking pictures I was amused by the music they played here: Arabic pop, which we hear quite a lot here in Berlin as well since there is a large Turkish population. So it felt a bit like home!

I saw a ton of those places on my trip and heard that music! It was so interesting and cool to me!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

I can't believe how far behind I am. HOW did I not know you started! I am heading back to catch up!

 

[eandesmom]

WOW! what a great update and how fun to go on your stroll with you!

I am cracking up at the Miss Sunshine. We used to have several of those books...the favorite being Mr. Nosy (Evan). Who really didn't learn a darn thing from that book!

 

[glennbo123]

What a big update! And very informative ladies!

We walked through the shop and were very disappointed! Mainly because we could not get any maple candy.

My mom used to make maple syrup and candy when I was growing up. The syrup was okay, but the candy was just too sweet for me.

After such a successful visit, we decided to move on to Germany's big neighbour (in real European geography, not in World Showcase geography) – France (or Frankreich as we call it):

Here, Frank Reich LINK is a former pro football quarterback who once held the distinction of leading his team to the biggest comeback victory ever – in both college and professional football. (I didn’t know he was named after a country!)

I won’t quote your Morocco pictures, but I took a lot of the same ones!

And Katharina had a revelation: During the pre-show she suddenly said to me: “Ah! It's aviator not radiator!” Apparently she understood during the first time that “little radiators” must be especially secured... To be honest, aviators is a rather difficult word and I am not sure I did understand everything correctly the first time I road Soarin over California at DCA!

That’s funny! You know, it’s a good idea to secure your little radiators too.

At the bus stop we met the same family who were the only other people on our bus that morning. I think it is fun how you often end up seeing the same people again and again... They looked as tired as us.

We’ve had that happen too. It’s amazing, out of the thousands of people.

 

[englishrose47]

I can translate Vacuum and pavement !!!!Hoover and sidewalk !! And I frequently said "Cheerio "" as in Old Chap!!!

 

[brookelizabeth]

You don't look like Roz at all!! Up is a great film, but sooo sad in the beginning. I think Pixar is really great at telling moving stories. I am really looking forward to Toy Story 3 which just came out last week in Germany. Katharina and I are going to see it when she returns from Finland.

I'm glad I don't look like Roz! My hair does resemble hers in the morning though, I usually shower at night and by morning it's straight up!!

Bring tissues to Toy Story 3...it's a good one. I agree with Up, Henry was watching it again the other day and I stopped to watch the beginning with him and started to tear up...so sad.

What a great afternoon around the WS! Ive never heard of maple candy, but it sounds delicious.

I spy with my little eye Coffee Candy! Yum!

And this is the only picture of merchandise I took, I was amused by these skewers and was wondering what would happen if someone would try to take them with them in their hand luggage!

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=37679742&postcount=554

I'm thinking they don't sell to many of those!

We spent quite some time in the shop – so many beautiful things to buy! We loved this tea set:

Adorable!!! If you do take that trip to Japan please keep us updated via a Community Board thread or a blog or something, I would love to read along!!

But before we could leave Epcot we still had to use our Soarin FPs from this morning! It was great again! And Katharina had a revelation: During the pre-show she suddenly said to me: “Ah! It's aviator not radiator!” Apparently she understood during the first time that “little radiators” must be especially secured... To be honest, aviators is a rather difficult word and I am not sure I did understand everything correctly the first time I road Soarin over California at DCA!

I'm sorry Katharina, but this made me laugh out loud so hard! We have a "little radiator" in our bathroom, so I immediately pictured it strapped in and taking a ride on Soarin'. Oh the visual is just too funny! Aviator is a difficult word, I'm certain she is not alone in misunderstanding it!