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

ontoTravel is happy to launch Expat Perspective, a new series of posts by expatriate guest writers sharing their views and experiences about living long term in a foreign land.

Check back tomorrow for our first post by Chris Mavergames, an American expat now living in Southern Germany.

Interested in contributing?

Would you like to share your expat perspective? Click here to access the contact email for this blog's administator. Just send an email with description about your life abroad.

What kind of contributions?

Just a simple once a month sort of thing. It could be a photograph, a rant/rave, a link to a favorite website, whatever ... just as long as it somehow pertains to you being from X but now living in Y.

You could do it pretty much however you'd want. All you'd have to do is email your content to me and I'd post it. I already have an expat friends in Shanghai and in Monterray that have said they'd be into doing it.

Similarly, if you have a story, lead, or anything else that might interest ontoTravel readers, feel free to send the details this way.

Thank you,
Tiki Chris
Administrator
ontoTravel

Extended stay in the UK? Read this book!

Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour by Kate Fox is mandatory reading for any non-English residents of England - or anyone planning an extended stay in the UK. I wish I'd read this years ago!



Really I don't see why anthropologists feel they have to travel to remote corners of the world and get dysentery and malaria in order to study strange tribal cultures with bizarre beliefs and mysterious customs, when the weirdest, most puzzling tribe of all is right her on our doorstep.
- Kate Fox