Are you Russian? French? Swedish?

Are you French? Russian? Are you from Sweden? I have gotten it all, then I open my mouth, aaahhh Americana. In Mulhouse (pronounced mooolhooos) people don't speak English. The town is very small with wider curving streets and the buildings and houses are very light colors, lilac, yellow, seafoam etc. Tuesday morning I took class with Lateef's company in Mulhouse, L' Opera National du Rhin. I was told to try to go to Saarbrucken and take class with Donlon Dance Company so after that class I jumped on a train to Saarbrucken Germany. I stayed with a friend of Lateef's, Randolph, who low and behold I know from Chautauqua (NCDT)! I took class with him the next morning which went well then hopped back on the train to Mulhouse. Less then 12 hours later I was back on the train to Basel again for class this morning. Hmmmm so the past 4 days have been, Switzerland-France-Germany-France-Switzerland-France. Tomorrow Germany. You could say I am a bit tired...

 I did get to spend Wednesday afternoon exploring Saarbrucken and see the hazelnut vendors throughout the streets, An exquisite church, the river and the old town. I had finished my book on the way to Saarbrucken and was in desperate need to read something in English. I found a bookstore and asked for the English section where someone pointed to a little shelf in the corner. Besides Twilight and some of the worst looking fiction ever, there was not much to choose from but you know when you are in need of something even the worst of that something is better then nothing? I bought a book and it has been the best worst thing I have ever read.

Did I mention its really cold here? Goodness... The train ride this morning into Basel was beautiful though. It was very early and the countryside was hauntingly beautiful. I kept expecting Mr. Darcy to walk out of the mist towards me... I really enjoyed the time I spent in Switzerland. Its a very expensive country (coffee is 3.10 Swiss Francs) and it is a good mix of old and new. The streets are wider and the river through Basel is almost completely clear! In the summer the "thing to do" is jump in and float through Basel, how amazing would that be!?

"I have a dream..."

The last two days in Amsterdam were a whirlwind, Angela and I met Rachael Elliot and Adam Peterson for brunch Saturday morning. After a lovely morning with them I walked to the Heineken Brewery and met Matt PS and spent the afternoon with him wandering around the Albert Cuyp Market where we got stroopwaffles and coffee. Stroopwaffles are these heavenly thin warm waffles smashed together with a caramel syrupy glaze. Once you bite into one of those there is no turning back.

Leaving Matt I found myself lost in a wonderful flea market near the opera house before finding my way back to Angela's. We took a beautiful walk that night through the canals and stumbled into this tiny and beautifully mosaiced Italian restaurant, Saturnino! This place was special. The perfectly cooked thin crusted Napolitana pizza was the perfect ending to a wonderful 9 days in Holland. The greatest thing about walking through Amsterdam at night is looking into apartments. Not in a creepy way (well sorta...) but people light up their apartments and open their blinds and you cant help but ogle at the modern and antique beauty inside. The spiraling staircases, the perfectly polished kitchens, the paintings, the list goes on......

The next morning I went to church with Angela. Not only was it gorgeous but it was Martin Luther King's birthday and the service was done beautifully revolving around MLK and "I have a dream..." So inspiring.  After church I packed up and made the journey to Basel, Switzerland!

I arrived in Basel around 10 last night and checked into a hostel. Basel Back Pack. It is very clean and well kept. I woke this morning and took class with Basel Ballett! Class went very well and The dancers were fantastic and afterward I had a very good talk with the director..... They have a premiere this week so are very busy but I get to take class again on Thursday and watch a dress rehearsal tonight. Will keep you all posted about that! I am staying with Lateef tonight in Mulhouse which is right on the border of Switzerland, France and Germany, crazy!

Ballet, Ballet, Ballet

Where did I leave you.... ah yes Anne Frank.... The last couple of days have been filled with classes at Henny Jurriens and rehearsing my solo for NDT. I took class with Angela at Het National on Wednesday which was really great to take. I took a stroll that night through the canals which was absolutely stunning, with all the boat houses all lit up and lights lining the canals and cobble stoned streets, I could walk through Amsterdam every night. My favorite boat was called Haddock (Tintin). Some of the greatest things I have seen while wandering in my free time have been, I giant chess set outside that people were playing on, a restaurant called "Food, Drinks and People" and a man riding his bike with two milk crates attached to his bike and in each crate was a small child.

Thursday morning I woke up at 6:30 to make my way to catch a train to Den Haag (45 min. from Amsterdam) to audition for NDT 2. I started the day with gaga class with NDT 2 then ballet with the first company. These dancers are breathtaking. Their focus and love for dance is so inspiring. I performed my solo then got to watch the second company rehearse in the afternoon before heading back to Amsterdam. Today's schedule consisted of the same thing and after I was done at NDT I got off the train at Leiden to meet up with Sanne! We grabbed a bite to eat then she took me all over the city. Leiden is quite small and very clean and quaint. It was a very relaxing and beautiful city and seeing Sanne was so much fun!

Exhausted. Time for bed. Tomorrow I get to see Rachel Elliot perform!

Lets take a stroll through Amsterdam

Amsterdam..... where do I begin? The first day here I went to class at Henny Jurriens and Cathy Martin taught. She was such an inspiration and is helping me! Angela's friend Jordan, who is dancing with Royal Swedish Ballet, came to visit for the weekend so after class I met up with them at Sarah's pancake house. I got an omelet, it was huge. We strolled through the cobble stoned streets to the Royal Palace of Amsterdam, the 8th wonder of the world! It has just reopened after being renovated and it was incredible. The queen of Holland and her guests still stay at it at times so its only open to the public for part of the time.

All throughout Amsterdam you can walk down streets and alleys and you just stumble upon book stands, flower markets, flea markets and churches. We went into a church that seemed completely hidden if you weren't looking for it which led into this adorable courtyard. The whole city is full of these wonderful things...

The next day I took class in the morning and who taught...? Carmen! I grabbed a fresh bagel and coffee and Angela, Jordan and I wandered through a flea market and into many retro stores trying on coats, boots, hats etc. We went into De Bijenkorf, a fancy "mall" where you can go get coffee on the top floor and look out onto all of Amsterdam.

We went back to Angela's to make some dinner and cut and dye me and Jordans' hair before hitting the town last night! We danced the night away at two different clubs. People here dance. They dont just sway back and forth and shake there hips. They dance.

After sleeping into an embarrassing late hour we grabbed a coffee  and went to the Anne Frank house. Reading her diary I had the annex pictured in my mind as what I thought it looked like. Seeing it first hand, words cant explain.... What these 8 people lived in is shocking and inspirational in a way.... The way its set up to walk through was very historical.  To have been able to walk through and see and sit where Anne Frank had spent two years of her life hiding was life changing in many different ways. When the museum was made in the Annex Otto Frank wanted it to be unfurnished like it was when they were found and the Annex was emptied, so there are small replicas of what each room looked like. On the walls though are original pictures Anne had put up and markings of their height while living in the Annex. The Attic is closed to the public but you can look up the stairs and they put a mirror so you can see the reflection of it. When standing in this tiny place I just kept telling and asking myself, this was where she spent her last two years of her life before being taken into Auschwitz.... how? Her diary was her refuge.... What if that was me.....?

"When I write I can shake off all my cares. My sorrow disappears, my spirits are revived!"- Anne Frank

"To build up a future, you have to know the past." - Otto Frank

Auf Wiedersehen Germany, Hoi Amsterdam!

For our last afternoon in Dusseldorf we took a train to Koln (just 20 minutes!) When we walked out of the hauptbahnhof (main train stations) our jaws dropped, looming above us was the Koln cathedral. It looks like it was carved from a mountain... After roaming through the cathedral we made our way through the old town to the Rhein. Strolling down the Rhein we stumbled across the chocolade museum. How could we resist? We were completely won over the moment the smell inside hit us. We got to see how chocolate is made and learn all about the history of chocolate. One of my favorite parts was seeing what chocolate packaging looked like from the beginning to today and watching old chocolate commercials in German!

We realized quite early on that if your lost in Koln just look up and you will see the cathedral and can figure out where things are off of that, so after getting our fill of chocolate we made our way to see the Philharmonic. Huge and beautiful. We grabbed a bite to eat before jumping back on the train to Dusseldorf.

This morning we packed up and made our way by train to Amsterdam! This city is incredible, its like walking into a beautifully fantastic grungy little storybook where there are twists and turns and cobbled stone streets every which way I am destined to spend hours milling about on. Tomorrow class at Henny Jurriens Stichting, a studio similar to Lines with open classes and where different people doing projects teach and dance at!

Getting lost is the way to go.

Made it to Dusseldorf! I found my way to the hostel/motel from the main station very easily and met Angela there, what a reunion... We have since taken on Dusseldorf like a storm. We got lost and saw everything that first afternoon. We have since figured the best way to see things is to just get lost and eventually you will make it home. We made our way through the old town, and down koningsallee (very expensive street) while doing an extensive photo shoot. It was fabulous until, angela took a photo of a pub with a peddlar musician in front, apparently the peddlar wasnt fond of cameras and chased us while yelling in german. While escaping from the angry man we eventually found ourselves on the Rhein Promanade, stunning.... We took a lovely walk down the promanade and ended up on a strasse (street) that we recognized near the motel, our stomachs were grumbling and we saw a long line outside a restaurant so decided it must be good. It was. Homemade ramen mmmmm the best part was that the menu was in German and Japanese so we pointed at the pictures and grinned.

Day two we had a lovely breakfast, complimentary of course, and made our way to the balletthaus! Class was fantastic, The company was so welcoming and the studios were beautiful. Its so neat how small the dance world is because a handful of the dancers knew so many of the same people as me! Dusseldorf of all places!

After class I met back up with Angela and we walked across the Rhein (or should I say skipped...) When we got to the other side Angela really really had to pee. We didnt know where to go so we went into this huge art academie building, which was very cool, but couldnt find a bathroom. We ran back outside and up and down the cobblestone streets until a group of students pointed to this little doorway. We stumbled in and found ourselves in this tiny pizzeria. Angela ran into the bathroom and I didnt want to be rude so sat down and got a menu. This place was special, I had one of the best anchovy pizzas and it cost next to nothing. 

 With empty bladders and full stomachs we managed to find ourselves back near the Rhein next to the ship museum. We walked in and the man behind the desk told us that if we told him we were under 18 we could go into the museum for free, so naturally we said we were under 18. It was full of miniature ships and panoramas that were beautiful. We went to the german market after and oggled at all the gorgeous, breads, wooden toys, candies, meats and chocolates. We even saw chocolate flavored pasta!

What can the next day here possibly have in store...?

my little english speaker

NYE, where do I begin.... We packed up the kids and headed over to Denise's friends house in Bornheim where we had an old traditional german celebration with rachlette. Rachlette is where you cook meat and cheese and vegetables on these stoves and hotplates right on the table. You cook the meat on top and then each person has there own pan that goes underneath the hotplate to melt the cheese and cook the vegetables. To accompany the meat there was a salad, bread, olives, beans and potatos. From there I made my way to the Kinga Club watching fireworks along the way and then danced the night away. Boy oh boy do the germans know how to dance....

When I awoke and walked upstairs the first thing ada says to me is "there is my little english speaker" In german of course. Ada's rabbits had babies (so small and fluffy!) so we cleaned the cage then we took a beautiful walk this afternoon from their house into these pastures and fields, just blocks away, full of fruit trees and fed horses.

Denise and I made a trip after dinner to pick up baby  food at the Main Station in Frankfurt and inside there was a man walking his weasel. hmmm..... an early night tonight because tomorrow I head to Dusseldorf for my first set audition and to meet Angela!