Expat Perspective - Chris in Freiburg - Mom's Visit

Welcome to the latest instalment of Expat Perspective, a series of posts by guest writers who come from X but are living long term in Y. Here's the latest post from Chris Mavergames, an American librarian who's recently settled into family life in Southern Germany.

Recently, my mother, who is 67, came for a visit. She's been to Freiburg, a city nestled in the heart of the Südschwarzwald (southern Black Forest) region of Germany - last year right after our son Arvo was born. But, I'm always interested in what she finds interesting about where we live. For example, nearly all German dwellings have rolladen on the windows, a type of rolling shutter that lowers to completely cover the window rendering the room pitch black if you like. I've become used to them and forgot that we don't have those in America and they are quite helpful for mid-day naps, especially for an 18-month old!

My mother also enjoyed the "Radler" drink very much as she's not a big drinker. A Radler, also know as Shandy (UK) or panaché (France) is a mixture of pils beer and zitronenlimonade or German style, sparkling lemonade - like Sprite but more natural. And what goes well with a cool
beverage? Football, or soccer if you prefer, of course! I was surprised by my mother's enthusiasm for the Euro 2008 championships currently underway in the host countries of Switzlerland and Austria.

Overall, I think my mother quite enjoyed her visit here. Sadly, she had to return to America before the Euro 2008 final coming up next weekend. Perhaps she can catch it on ESPN in America, though she'll have to mix her own Radler!

Expat Perspective - Chris in Freiburg - Berlin

Welcome to the latest instalment of Expat Perspective, a new series of posts by guest writers who come from X but are living long term in Y. Here's the latest post from Chris Mavergames, an American librarian who's recently settled into family life in Southern Germany.

I just visited a friend in Berlin. The last time I was there was the summer of 1997 while on a backpacking trip through 9 countries and at least as many cities in Western Europe and found Berlin to be my favorite. So much has changed there in the last 10 years that I hardly recognized entire areas of the city and it was as if I had never been here before. Examples: Potsdamer Platz: from dirt field trying to be a construction site to a "Times Square" experience; Oraniengburgstr. in Mitte: from no streetlights and buildings still slightly in rubble to swank cafes and restaurants. My friend lives in the Tiergarten in the Hansaviertel, an area dotted with utopian architecture from the 50s and 60s. My friend lives in one of these strange high-rise buildings (see picture).

I spent my week there re-introducing myself to the neighborhoods of Kreuzberg, Mitte, Prenzlauer Berg and Schöneberg. Also, I visited the glass dome, cupola, atop the Reichstag, actually formally referred to as the Bundestag now, something I would highly recommend anyone visiting Berlin to do, for the views alone. Other highlights included: Victoria Park in Kreuzberg, farmer's market in Schöneberg (Sat. and Wed.), the glass box bar on Karl-Marx-Allee, Alt Berlin in Mitte, coffee or lunch at Cafe Adler, a famous cafe from the Cold War era, a walk in the Tiergarten - hell, a walk anywhere - Berlin is an excellent walking city and a half-day trip to Potsdam, which I didn't have time for but came so highly-recommended that I am comfortable passing the recommendation on to others. Finally, a slightly amusing note for any Americans reading, I voted while I was there in Presidential primary, upstairs at a restaurant called Max and Moritz in Kreuzberg. The food is excellent there by the way!

Expat Perspective - Chris in Freiburg - Sao Paolo

Welcome to the latest instalment of Expat Perspective, a new series of posts by guest writers who come from X but are living long term in Y. Here's the latest post from Chris Mavergames, an American librarian who's recently settled into family life in Southern Germany.

I just spent 9 days in the monstrosity that is Sao Paulo, Brazil. Witha metropolitan population of over 20 million inhabitants, Sao Paulo is currently the 4th largest city in the world, 3rd if you count the vast expanses of the metropolitan area. The taxi ride from the airport to the city centre gives one the sense of this expanse and the poverty that leads you to the towering skyscrapers at the heart of this very modern, very wealthy metropolis.

I was there attending a work conference, so I honestly did not have much time for leisure. Having said that, there were the evenings, and I spent them having some of the best meals of my life. The food in Sao Paulo, and I suspect in many places in Brazil/South America generally,is excellent. The tastiest meats, salad bars with plentiful vegetables from both the Brazilian influence as well as the rich Italian immigrant history of the city (think yucca next to buffalo mozzarella next to marinaded shitake mushrooms!) and incredible red wines fromneighboring Chile and Argentina make it a foodies' dream. I can highly recommend the restaurant Rodeio. Also, the churrascaria restaurant (the Portuguese name for a special kind of Brazilian steakhouse), Fogo da Chao, which is actually a chain with locations in the USA, was also a fantastic experience. See www.fogodachao.com for more information.

Ultimately, I needed much more time than I had available to navigate the smog-filled mayhem that is Sao Paulo. The city can be dangerous and intimidating, but even if you go there only to eat and drink caipirinhas, you won't be disappointed!

Expat Perspective: Chris in Freiburg - "One of the Most Stunning Places on Earth"

Welcome to the latest instalment of Expat Perspective, a series of posts by guest writers who come from X but are living long term in Y. Here's the second post from Chris Mavergames, an American librarian who's recently settled into family life in Southern Germany.

Basically, for this edition of Expat Perspective, I'll let the images speak for themselves. I'm originally from Georgia, USA which is a beautiful place in its own right and now live in southern Germany in the heart of the Black Forest, Freiburg. It truly is one of the most stunning places on earth and is also a culturally diverse and lively place with excellent food and drink.

Click here for a short video of the mountain area behind our house and views overlooking the city:

For more information, freiburg.de.

Expat Perspective: Chris in Freiburg - Summer Night in Oslo

Welcome to the latest instalment of Expat Perspective, a new series of posts by guest writers who come from X but are living long term in Y. Here's the second post from Chris Mavergames, an American librarian who's recently settled into family life in Southern Germany.

Recently, I had to attend a work meeting in Oslo, Norway. As I live in the south of Germany, I wasn't prepared for the summer sun to burn quite so bright. It was my first experience with a Scandinavian night and being less than a week before the summer solstice (longest day of the year), it was incredible. The sun burns bright well past 9pm and it remains daylight until around midnight where it just dips into dusk/dawn and resurfaces around 2. By 5am, it looks like noon would in most of western Europe or America (I'm originally from Georgia).

Oslo is fairly small for a capital (approximately 500,000 people) and very walkable, if not inexpensive (roughly 10 Euros for a pint in some places!). There are some museums you're not likely to find anywhere else, such as the Nobel Peace Centre, Thor Heyerdahl museum and Viking Museum. The food is excellent (though, again, very pricey). And, generally, the city is quiet and pleasant and it's nice to simply (and easier on the wallet) to have a walk around. I was, however, happy to be back in the Black Forest in southern Germany if not only to see my wife and 5-month old but also to get some sleep, as that midnight sun can be detrimental to one's sleeping cycle. I'd recommend having a few beers to get to sleep when it's so bright out in Oslo - that is, if you can afford it!


11:30 p.m. in Oslo, from my hotel window
Photography by Chris Mavergames © 2007
Interested in contributing travel photography to this blog? Click here for details.

Expat Perspective: Chris in Freiburg - Arvo Meets Arvo

Welcome to Expat Perspective, a new series of posts by guest writers who come from X but are living long term in Y. Our first post comes courtesy of Chris Mavergames, an American librarian who's recently settled into family life in Southern Germany.

My name is Chris Mavergames and I'm originally from Griffin, Georgia, USA and after spells in New York and London now live in Freiburg, nestled in the Black Forest of Southern Germany. My experience here thus far has been tremendous. It is one of the most beautiful cities I know in the world and is a vibrant university town, which has its benefits - art house cinemas with movies in original language, live music (this past Saturday Howe Gelb, singer of the seminal band Giant Sand was here and Will Oldham played in Basel, Switzerland which is 45 minutes from here on Monday night) and an active social and political community.

On 11 January of this year, our son, Arvo, was born. He was named after the composer Arvo Pärt. Yesterday, we had the good fortune to introduce the littlest Arvo to his namesake! See attached picture. Mr. Pärt is here receiving an honorary doctorate from the University of Freiburg. For more on Freiburg, see freiburg.de .