Hi everyone! My 12-yr-old son and I returned from Germany last week after having been there for 4 wks. We stayed with some cousins and took a lot of day trips to castles, cathedrals, quaint villages and beautiful forests. Although I'd been there several times, the last time was 13 yrs ago and I'd forgotten what an absolutely gorgeous country it was. We had an incredible time.
Here are a couple of comments that might be of interest.
I had several discussions with relatives and friends about German and American stereotypes. After describing the stereotypical oompa-playing, beer-drinking, punctual and orderly German, I asked them to describe a stereotypical American. The first word out of every mouth was "fat." And it's true! Although German food is typically hearty fare (Wurst, Schnitzel, cake, ice cream, beer, etc) and restaurant portions are gargantuan, most people are not fat. Young and old walk and ride bikes EVERYWHERE because the distances are small and the infrastructure is set up so that it's more convenient and actually necessary to do so. We walked and walked and walked! They also think that all Americans eat fast food every day and when they took us to Kentucky Fried Chicken, they were surprised that it was the first time my son had ever been there! One of my cousins is a flight attendant for Lufthansa and frequently travels to Japan. Over the years, she has noticed more and more fast food restaurants cropping up and more and more Japanese people getting fat.
Aside from endless walking (which was a pleasure), I managed to alternate power yoga and Pilates every day. After doing so for 4 wks, my ever-troublesome abs are more defined and I lost several pounds. (I ate a lot of fattening food and drank beer every day.) Although I've been back for almost a week, I came down with the flu and haven't been able to work out, which is a particular shame, because I wanted to do a weight workout immediately to see if I had lost any strength. After a week of being sick and not exercising, I won't be able to judge. Bummer!
Hope everyone's enjoying their summer!
Here are a couple of comments that might be of interest.
I had several discussions with relatives and friends about German and American stereotypes. After describing the stereotypical oompa-playing, beer-drinking, punctual and orderly German, I asked them to describe a stereotypical American. The first word out of every mouth was "fat." And it's true! Although German food is typically hearty fare (Wurst, Schnitzel, cake, ice cream, beer, etc) and restaurant portions are gargantuan, most people are not fat. Young and old walk and ride bikes EVERYWHERE because the distances are small and the infrastructure is set up so that it's more convenient and actually necessary to do so. We walked and walked and walked! They also think that all Americans eat fast food every day and when they took us to Kentucky Fried Chicken, they were surprised that it was the first time my son had ever been there! One of my cousins is a flight attendant for Lufthansa and frequently travels to Japan. Over the years, she has noticed more and more fast food restaurants cropping up and more and more Japanese people getting fat.
Aside from endless walking (which was a pleasure), I managed to alternate power yoga and Pilates every day. After doing so for 4 wks, my ever-troublesome abs are more defined and I lost several pounds. (I ate a lot of fattening food and drank beer every day.) Although I've been back for almost a week, I came down with the flu and haven't been able to work out, which is a particular shame, because I wanted to do a weight workout immediately to see if I had lost any strength. After a week of being sick and not exercising, I won't be able to judge. Bummer!
Hope everyone's enjoying their summer!
