ifs ands & butts

just a Texas college grad who ran off to Germany for a year... and then stayed awhile longer.

Written by

the fairy tale castle.

At the south end of Germany’s Romantic Road lies a far away land that seemingly only resides in the dreams of little children dressed in pink ruffled dresses. I always think of castles as so...

5 days Like 2 people like this

ifs ands & butts

I’ve mentioned before that I love Munich. It stole my heart from my first visit in 2010, and I have been back to visit, learn some things, drink a lot of beer (and I’m not even a big beer drinker),...

6 days Like

ifs ands & butts

bavaria & the romantic road.

My strongest association with Germany will always be green. Not beer, not pretzels, not Oktoberfest, nor trains, but simply the color green. Green parks, gardens, and ponds are dotted sporadically...

May 13, 2013 Like 1 person likes this

ifs ands & butts

stamp of approval saturday #22.

Another Saturday in May is here. There’s something special about May Saturdays, probably because the weather is finally better. In fact, I no longer even feel it’s appropriate to lay in bed all day...

May 11, 2013 Like

ifs ands & butts

a day at the races in iffezheim.

Thursday was the Ascension and an Father’s Day in Germany – which meant yet another public holiday. I am beginning to get used to these midweek breaks. Anyway, this time around we were looking for...

May 10, 2013 Like

ifs ands & butts

spargelnacht.

It is Spargelzeit, or Asparagus season, here in Germany and the Germans are going crazy for the enormous white asparagus. I had never even tried the white asparagus, and being the curious expat I...

May 9, 2013 Like 1 person likes this

ifs ands & butts

el medano, tenerife.

Ever since moving to Europe, I’ve been dying to visit one of the famous Canary Islands, a group of thirteen islands, owned by Spain, which lie off the coast of northwest Africa. These volcanic...

May 8, 2013 Like

ifs ands & butts

visas: a pain in the arse.

Living and traveling abroad is generally fantastic: you get to experience other cultures, try various cuisines, possibly learn another language, converse with all sorts of people, visit historical...

May 7, 2013 Like 1 person likes this

ifs ands & butts

cinco de mayo, germany-style.

I love holidays. Why? Well, the combination of loved ones, excellent food, and celebrations, of course! There’s really nothing wrong with it (at least before you enter into some dreaded in-laws...

May 6, 2013 Like

ifs ands & butts

stamp of approval saturday #21.

Hyberbole and a Half: Bev shared this last week on SOAS, but in case you missed it, you need to read this now or The Alot is Better Than You at Everything or the Alot will come after you. Mashable:...

May 4, 2013 Like

ifs ands & butts

i biked to france, NBD.

May 1, or May Day, is a apparently an international holiday that I had never heard of until moving to Germany. But whatever, it was a Feiertag in Germany – German Labor Day- and fell on a Wednesday...

May 3, 2013 Like 1 person likes this

ifs ands & butts

search term traffic.

As a blogger, I like to imagine that my readership consists of loyal readers, coming back for more of the good stuff. But in reality, about 15 percent of my daily traffic comes from good ole Google...

May 2, 2013 Like 1 person likes this

ifs ands & butts

places i could definitely go back to: croatia.

As far as my travel preferences go, I prefer to hit new spots instead of repeating old ones (don’t worry Munich, you’re an exception). My impressions of a spot come quickly and I feel I can grasp a...

Apr 30, 2013 Like

ifs ands & butts

asparagus (and smacks) pee.

It’s asparagus season in Germany, which is seemingly insignificant except for that Germans go crazy over their Spargel. They aren’t just any ole green asparagus, oh no. Instead, they come big, fat,...

Apr 29, 2013 Like

ifs ands & butts

stamp of approval saturday #20.

SOAS #20 – I almost don’t believe it, but then again, how will I feel when it reaches 100? That’ll be a solid two years. And if I’m still blogging then, I have to wonder what life will be like. But...

Apr 27, 2013 Like

ifs ands & butts

miss checked out, checking in.

Oh hey. It’s nice to be here. You see, this week I have had an issue and it’s called pure, unadulterated lazy. Not necessarily lazy in the life sense – I’ve made it to 4 hours of German class every...

Apr 26, 2013 Like

ifs ands & butts

stuttgart beerfest.

Want the German beerfest experience without the hellacious task of finding a seat at Oktoberfest? Well, you’re in luck. There is actually another magical land where you people gather in traditional...

Apr 23, 2013 Like

ifs ands & butts

the (24th) birthday.

Well, I’m back from one heck of a week long adventure that included Aschau im Chiemgau, Munich, Salzburg and surrounding areas, a picnic on the Chiemsee, Neuschwanstein Castle, and the birthday...

Apr 22, 2013 Like

ifs ands & butts

why yes, it’s my birthday.

We interrupt the regular IA&B Stamp of Approval Saturday programming for a very special message from this blog’s sole sponsor (that would be me). It is my 24th birthday today, and despite 24 being...

Apr 20, 2013 Like

ifs ands & butts

roasted red pepper and goat cheese pasta.

I’ve pinned about a million and one things on Pinterest, which means I’ve spent a whole ton of time on that dang Website. The good thing about Pinterest as opposed to the other life-sucking social...

Apr 15, 2013 Like

ifs ands & butts

stamp of approval saturday #19.

Hello and Happy Saturday! I’ve got a big week of traveling planned, but before that starts, I’m headed to meet Hailey in her town and bond over life in Texas versus life in Germany. I won’t be back...

Apr 13, 2013 Like

ifs ands & butts

deprived of a childhood.

Want to know a secret? I was deprived as a child – like completely, of my entire childhood. Why? There’s only one reason really: I missed out on skipping down Main Street USA in a Mickey hat...

Apr 9, 2013 Like 1 person likes this

ifs ands & butts

our perfect palermo apartment rental.

The Sicily trip, among food and gorgeous-ness, also provided my first vacation apartment rental experience. With a pretty nonexistent hostel scene and six of us to share costs, it made perfect...

Apr 8, 2013 Like 1 person likes this

ifs ands & butts

stamp of approval saturday #18.

Happy Saturday (because isn’t it always?) !! It’s a bit of slim pickins this week because I’ve been behind on my blogroll, BUT plan on getting caught up this weekend, which should ensure an ultra...

Apr 6, 2013 Like

ifs ands & butts

one thru five.

one. Twenty-three (almost four, eek) years into my life, I finally watched the Sound of Music. It’s because I will be in Salzburg in ~10 days. Not to mention, I was a governess myself a wee year...

Apr 5, 2013 Like

ifs ands & butts

cefalù, sicily, italy.

When in Sicily, you must check out Cefalù. We stayed in Palermo, but hopped on a 1 hour train (5.50-7.50€) for a day trip to the smaller town of Cefalù. The ride alone was incredible, following...

Apr 4, 2013 Like 2 people like this

ifs ands & butts

how to: avoid getting jipped on ryanair.

Ryanair, love it or hate it, one thing is certain: it gets you places on the cheap. I, personally, love it and get a bit irked when people hate on it. Do you want great customer service, seats that...

Apr 3, 2013 Like 1 person likes this

ifs ands & butts

what i ate: sicily.

Let’s get real, the thing I looked forward to most in Sicily next to the sunshine was the food. Italian food is flavorful, comforting, and carbo-loaded (which I usually try and avoid) and always...

Apr 2, 2013 Like 1 person likes this

ifs ands & butts

carnival of europe – april 1, 2013 edition.

Hello everyone! I am back from Sicily and it was nothing short of wonderful. I can’t wait to begin sharing, but first order of business: I’m thrilled to be hosting Carnival of Europe this month –...

Apr 1, 2013 Like

ifs ands & butts

Welcome to Bloglovin'

Follow your favorite blogs and discover new ones. Learn more »

Select country

ifs ands & butts

Written by

Alexandra Butts

the fairy tale castle.

touring munich by bike.

bavaria & the romantic road.

stamp of approval saturday #22.

a day at the races in iffezheim.

spargelnacht.

el medano, tenerife.

visas: a pain in the arse.

cinco de mayo, germany-style.

stamp of approval saturday #21.

i biked to france, NBD.

search term traffic.

places i could definitely go back to: croatia.

asparagus (and smacks) pee.

stamp of approval saturday #20.

miss checked out, checking in.

stuttgart beerfest.

the (24th) birthday.

why yes, it’s my birthday.

roasted red pepper and goat cheese pasta.

stamp of approval saturday #19.

deprived of a childhood.

our perfect palermo apartment rental.

stamp of approval saturday #18.

one thru five.

cefalù, sicily, italy.

how to: avoid getting jipped on ryanair.

what i ate: sicily.

carnival of europe – april 1, 2013 edition.

stamp of approval saturday #17.

Emily Porter

Thaise Evelin

Jamie Pilgrim

L@s Top 10 de LaHiguera

Annabelle

Laura Saija

Sonya Jasmine Berg

Mary Fox

Lauren Lindsley

Brei Delahoussaye

megan

Anne

Nicole May

Becky Roode

Lauren

Jennifer F - American Mom in Bordeaux

Katie Varner

mariano pizarro

Niken D. Rahayu

Erin

+ 184 more followers

We Took the Road Less Traveled wetooktheroadlesstr...

Postcards from Rachel postcardsfromrachel...

Lost in Travels lostintravelsblog.blogs...

Travel Babbles | Living the... travel-babbles.com

to the sea totheseablog.com

Found Love. Now What? foundlovenowwhat.com

Living in Another Language livinginanotherlanguage...

A Compass Rose bonnieroseblog.co.uk

From There to Here fromtheretoheretheb...

The Burghal Gurl burghalgurl.blogspot.com

Sign up to follow ifs ands & butts

Select your language