Amazing Airedale!

I usually only see children in these boxes... 

Max would be down for the ride.

Weekend

Flowers are relatively inexpensive here, so I bought my favorite color of hydrangea (about 2.50). I am a little disappointed that I got to Holland after the spring tulips were finished.

As part of my amazing care package, Maggie (the tea maven) included my requested Sleepytime, the smell of which evokes memories of my childhood.

You knew I would post this, Mags

I'm back, baby!

Thanks to a little Dutch Mac shop, my formerly-trusty Mac is back in business and running like a charm. More memory, newer operating system... and cool new wallpapers (which of course is the important thing). The old hard drive has been banished to the deepest recesses of my purse, and I don't have it in me to look at it just yet. 

R.I.P. Mac, and other tales

This weekend, with absolutely no warning or reason, my Mac completely crashed. I came home to find the screen frozen in place, and when I rebooted it was unable to find the hard drive, instead choosing to show me a folder with a blinking question mark. GRACK. Thankfully, I backed everything from law school up right before I left Boston, and apparently iTunes will be able to reinstate my music (only the purchased files, though). My parents and I are working on figuring out how to repair the computer, or what to replace it with, so in the meantime I will be posting from here at work. Photos will be delayed!

Other than that chaos, my weekend was lovely. I spent Friday relaxing and mentally preparing for a dinner at my senior trial attorney's house Saturday night. I managed to bike to his house near the beach in a skirt and heels, all while balancing a bouquet of floppy lisianthus on the handlebars, so I have earned my Dutch stripes. The dinner was very nice, with another attorney from the Tribunal attending with her parents and sister in tow.

Sunday was a fantastic day, as Maggie and her boyfriend Ben were in Den Haag! It was a bit surreal to see familiar Boston faces here in town, and I am so happy that they were able to stop by while touring through Munich and Amsterdam. The entire time that Maggie and I have been friends, I was living in my ridiculous shoebox apartment on Beacon Street, so my lovely flat here with huge windows and a fluffy bed was a happy sight for her as well. We had dinner outside on the Fred, a shopping street near my place, and sat around in the twilight that lasted until nearly 10:00. She brought me an amazing care package, full of things that I miss from the states, which I am still pawing through today.

Little canal by my apartment

Patently ridiculous cars

This Fiat looks like a marshmallow in a microwave.

I mean, who wouldn't want a banana yellow Beemer?!

Wedding weekend in Detmold

I got back into Den Haag late last night after having a wonderful time at the wedding of my friends Nicole and Jens. I stayed with Christian and his lovely girlfriend Rebecca, who showed me around and made me feel so completely welcome. This was the first wedding I had been to in Germany, and while it was pretty much the same affair as in America, the civil ceremony took place earlier in the day in a fantastic old Schloss, with the reception taking place that evening. The party was absolutely fantastic - champagne and beer flowing (Detmolder Pils above!) and a dj that played everything imaginable (I was definitely on the dance floor for Bloc Party). Christian's brother Julian was nice enough to put up with my novice waltz. Nicole was an utterly elegant bride, and somehow managed to look beautiful even at 5 a.m. when the whole thing was finally over.

Nicole + Jens, Standesamt Schloss Brake

The Newly Married Couple

Uppsala Friends

Fantastic Ride for the Bride

Rebecca's Beautiful Shawl

After the Ceremony

Flower Girl Watching Carefully for her Cue

Exchanging Rings

Taking Vows

Kleines Mäuschen

Modern Chandelier in a 1587 Building

Waiting in the Courtyard

Moat around Schloss Brake

Schloss Brake

Rebecca in the Sun

Balcony Overlooking the Schloss Courtyard

Out and about

On Friday afternoon Christian and I headed out into the Teutoburger Wald with his two dogs to get some fresh air and sunshine. I unfortunately forgot to whip my camera out while we were walking through the meadows, but imagine the most serene pastoral landscape in the valley below, walking barefoot through grass sprinkled with wild mint, and gold wheat fields moving slowly in the wind. It was by far the most calming moment I have had in the last few months, and even stomping onto some devilish thistle that made my feet burn and break out in red dots didn't spoil the experience. The bustle of the court and the heavy subject matter seemed light years away, and I missed Laurel, Oregon immensely. 

First night in Bielefeld

Christian and Rebecca recently moved into a gigantic flat that made me green with envy. It has an enormous living room that lets in tons of light, and they were kind enough to let me stay there for three nights. Christian is a rare friend - the kind that can pick right back up from where you last left off without missing a beat. He just recently traveled through Nepal, and brought back a few gifts that nearly brought a tear to my eye. My new little Buddha is sitting proudly on my mantle, and I smile when I think how far it has journeyed to get here. 

Ginny, Rebecca's sweet Irish Setter, who tried to crawl into bed with me a few times

On the train...

Years ago my parents took me on a long distance trip through Germany on the ICE train. We spent the hours looking out the window of our sleeper compartment watching villages blaze past at a cruising speed of at least 125 mph. I was truly happy to have booked first class seats through to Bielefeld on the high-speed train - the seats are comfortable, the cabin is quiet, the steward is happy to bring you a cappuccino and the paper, and no unpleasant turbulence to worry about (http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/08/03/plane.turbulence/index.html?eref=rss_topstories). 

One of the best things about the German rail system is the ability to time a departure down to the second. My train was scheduled to leave Duisburg at 15:10. From my seat I could see the platform clock; when the second hand reached 15:10:00 the train started to move forward. I have to shake my head at the Coast Starlight that I took to college my freshman year. The incredible scenery along the Hood Canal was of no consolation when the departure was more than once three hours behind schedule. Of course this punctuality makes for a stressful approach to the station - I made my train out of Bielefeld with about three minutes to spare.

Summer recess

Despite the court currently being in summer recess for three weeks, and despite every attorney on my team except for one senior trial attorney being out of the office, I have loads of work on my desk. I made sure to ask for projects before everyone headed out to Crete and Tuscany and Ireland, but I think I may have overextended myself. 

That being said, I will be taking Thursday and Friday off of work to attend my lovely friend Nicole's wedding in Detmold, Germany. I haven't seen her or her brother, my good friend Christian, in four years, so I am sure we will have long nights of catching up ahead of us. 

My case

This article from last year gives everyone a pretty good overview of the case I am working on and the stature of the defendant. I'm looking to the UK for coverage, as the New York Times only ran a small paragraph when the trial started. 

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article4870350.ece

Older article giving background information:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4327863.stm

Friday evening

House party

Tonight I am throwing an impromptu party at my flat, so be sure to check back for photos!