Snow Geese!

Here are some pictures of the thousands of snow geese who overwinter in PA! We also saw tundra swans, bald eagles, mergansers and black ducks.

I have a job!

I know this is old news for 99% of people who read this blog, but for that 1% who stumbled onto this page on accident, let's say yipeeyahoo! I posted a few weeks ago that I had an interview and I am happy to report that I was offered the position! I almost bit off my own tongue rushing to say 'I'll take it!'

So Andrew and I moved to PA. We're living in an apartment complex on the east shore (gotta throw in the local lingo) and we're starting to feel settled in, despite the fact that we are still eating on the floor and it gets quite dark in the evenings since we only own 2 lamps.

I have been working for 2 weeks. I have an office in the downtown in a very cool old building. I'm next door to some really nice people who come in to visit me from time to time to keep me sane. The work is going to be fabulous, once I get more settled in and straighten out my computer problems. I couldn't imagine a better position for my skills, except if it also included running.

We went out birding yesterday at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area and saw 10,000 or more snow geese. Andrew is really excited that we are now in the Atlantic Flyway (Ok, he's not the only dork--I'm excited too), so we are hoping to see some ducks coming through soon. I am pretty excited to see the warblers in a few weeks. We've also been goggled by all the tuliptrees, hickories and even chestnuts! We're definitely not in Michigan anymore!

I'll try to keep up with this a little better now and maybe I'll send some photos of the apartment soon.

Germany

Well, Andrew and I finally made it over to Germany to visit Paul and Heather. We had a blast! Unfortunately, we did determine once and for all that the travel gods do hate us. We traveled without reservations because it is the off-off-way off season in Germany, so we planned on walking into hotels and naming our price all over Bavaria. Instead, we ran into conferences in Munich and Berchtesgaden and Mozart's birthday celebration in Salzburg that left us with very limited options. On the other hand, we were able to ski on the Konigssee, which hasn't frozen solid in 20 years, so it wasn't all bad luck. I've included some of our pictures below.


Steinbach brewery in Erlangen had fantastic beer and lots of dogs in the bar, a dream for our own future pub.


Can I go downstairs, too?


The FORD Ka. Despite having a larger wingspan than the Ka's wheelbase, I still want one!


A break in the city wall in Ingolstadt, one of my favorite cities.


Andrew found tons of birds to photograph. The wood ducks were my favorite.


Horsey-go-round!


Stone carving (yes, carving) in the Ingolstadt cathedral.


The monstrous entry to the Frauenkirche in Munich.


The small but amazingly intricate Asamkirche.


The story behind this church is that there were two brothers caught in a terrible storm at sea who prayed to God that if he spared their lives, they would build him the most beautiful and ornate church possible. They lived and kept their word, as you can see.


A gate in the city wall of Munich. These city walls were very interesting to me, as Enland didn't have structures that immediately reminded me of feudalism like these did.


The massive and beautiful Theatinerkirche in Munich near the Residenz. This was the nicest part of Munich (esp. since the beergartens were closed).


Inside the Theatinerkirche (note the size of the person).


The view from our breakfast table in Berchtesgaden.


Andrew skiing on the Konigssee.








Elk on the Konigssee.


Along the trail at the end of the Konigssee.




The church in Berchtesgaden at night.


The wonderful restaurant in Berchtesgaden where we gorged ourselves on local beer, spaetzle, schnitzel and strudel!


A cool church in Salzburg.


A view from the top of Salzburg.


On the other side of the valley, you can see the old wall of Salzburg.




Along the river in Salzburg.




The view of Greenland on our flight home. It was an amazing sight and a great treat after a long trip over the Atlantic.