Olympic Park in Munich

On our recent trip to Munich, Steve and I went to Olympic Park. It is beautiful. The weather was perfect ... but these hamster-like plastic balls for rolling on the water were only available for kids! I want to do this too!

Outdoor Art on the Isar River

This video was shot during our April trip to Munich. It includes my parents, my sister Wanda (who drove us all over Bavaria!) and her husband Reinhard, Steve and me. The outdoor installation of rock formations is somewhere on the banks of the Isar River south of Munich. We know nothing more about it. If anyone seeing this video has information, please contact me at mouse_house@prodigy.net! Thanks! Susan

The Zugspitz with Susan and Steve

Our recent trip to Munich included a fabulous day excursion to Germany's highest alpine peak, the Zugspitz. The day was GLORIOUS! Of course, the people selling cable car tickets thought I was totally nuts since I was wearing flip flops ... but it didn't stop me (and wasn't a problem at all ... it's not like I was going skiing after all!) From the summit, we rode the smaller cable car down onto the glacier where skiers were EVERYWHERE! This video captures this ride.

Some of the skiers were dressed in traditional dirndls. Others were sun tanning in provided chairs. There is also a train that departs from the bottom and climbs via cogs. This train also arrived in the same glacier station to which we were riding. Steve and I went down the mountain on the train.

In the video I mention that "Austria was closed". Well, the boarder between the two countries runs right through the top of the Zugspitz. The Austrian side of the summit hadn't been completely shoveled out from recent snowfall ... hence, it was "closed".

Thank you goes to my sister Wanda who drove us to the Zugspitz. Our group consisted of Wanda, her husband Reinhard, my parents, Steve and me. My mother went up and down on the train. Wanda and my Dad went up on the train and down on the cable car. Steve and I went up on the cable car and down on the train. Reinhard only went by cable car. It was a blast no matter how you rode!

Runaway Runway, 2012 ... Felicia on the catwalk!

Felicia Finney, my excellent young model (age 14 and 5' 9 1/2" tall) on the catwalk at Runaway Runway, 2012. This annual event is sponsored by the Columbia Design League and features garments made from 100% recycled material. Felicia's dress was created from black felt that had previously been used as packaging material when shipping a kayak or canoe from its manufacturer to a local outdoors shop. The two-piece garment is covered in buttons salvaged from the former South Carolina State Mental Hospital's vacant laundry/alterations building. The over-sized tote was made from used tyvek and bubble-wrap mailing envelops from Lenz Travel Services of Slippery Rock, PA. It is called a "Barkin' Bag", an obvious twist on the elite Hermes Birkin Bag. Why "Barkin' "? Watch the video for Lulu, my sister Sonya's tiny dog who emerges from the Barkin' Bag at the end of the runway. Lulu is dressed in a harness that matches Felicia's outfit. (By the way, my adorable husband Steve actually shot this video!)