Rest of Last Week in Berlin (December 8-10)

The rest of the week flew by! It seemed unreal that I had actually finished my last final of college ever!! Or at least for undergrad. I just couldn't help but think that in January I would return to Purdue. I figured eventually it will sink in - probably the first day of work when I'm wishing I was back at Purdue haha.

Wednesday Marco & I accompanied Malia to the airport. We were attempting to send her bags home before she traveled Europe with her aunt. This was quite an adventure in itself. The bus dropped us off and we walked a good 15-20 minutes down this access road to even get to any buildings. Might I mention that the snow is probably 6 or more inches deep. At this point, I was deeply regretting not bringing any snowboots to Berlin. My Pumas were drenched, including my socks. When we finally got to a building, we tried asking where to go, and they pointed us to some loading docks with semis. I was sure they didn't understand us. We walked around aimlessly and eventually asked a lady that looked like she spoke English. She directed us inside the building with the docks. After a goose chase inside, we found out that you can't send your bags unaccompanied anymore. At least not after the recent terror escalation. Malia was S.O.L. and would be dragging all her bags with her the entire vacation.

After this, we went to Dolores for another helping of delicious burritos. My excuse was to show Marco how good they are. And good they were! Afterwards we walked around Galleria, a big department store. I ended up buying 2 more watches. Initially I let myself buy 2 because I intended to give my sister one, but that didn't happen.

Later we went to another Weihnachtsmarkt. I was in search of a painting of Berlin. I had gotten some from Italy and wanted one from Berlin too. Oh boy did I find some. I really wanted several of them. I had to step away and think about it before I purchased any. So I went to the beer garden, had a beer, and mulled it over. Actually it was more like I ordered a beer, chugged it, withdrew the cash, and was back at the booth in no time. I ended up buying a HUGE one for my apartment and 3 others, 2 would be for gifts and the last one for me. It was quite a crazy scene negotiating the whole ordeal. Marco was speaking Spanish to the one guy, me German to the other, and some English mixed in. I felt like we got a good deal when we left there. The paintings wouldn't be ready until Friday night.

Thursday Marco & I went to the Holocaust Memorial & little museum. I think the memorial is amazing! It consists of a bunch of different height concrete slabs. Also, the museum is underground. You walk through the memorial to go down into the museum. The whole area is pretty cool!! In the museum, they have stories from different Jews - actual letters, whole family lines, etc. They even have a database where you can search for Jews that were killed. I believe they have a little over 3 of the 6 million Jews' stories recorded. Family members can fill out information and submit it to the database. The database is also online. I thought that was a really cool project that someone started. Afterwards, we ended up walking to the Reichstag and Museum Island. It was snowing so hard. It was nearly blinding to walk through it. It even was huge flakes. If my feet weren't so darn cold, I would have loved to have walked around in it more.

Thursday evening my host family & I went to the farewell dinner for FU-BEST. While I was getting ready, it didn't seem like it really was a good bye dinner. It just seemed like another school function. The dinner was held at the same place our welcome dinner was held back in August. It felt strange to be back there sitting in the same place. Where had the time gone?! It seemed like yesterday that we all sat there scared and nervous to begin our semester abroad, and now it was over. I almost started crying right there at that realization. It hit me even harder when Daddy Dirk, as he affectionately became known, gave his closing address to the program participants.

At the end of the dinner, we received a FU-BEST "newspaper." It was a binder filled with articles, poems, etc. that each student had wrote in German. I was really glad they did that for us. It was so neat to read through all the articles. At the close of the dinner, it was a slap in the face to realize it was the last time I would see a lot of those people. Friday night, our close group of friends was having our own good bye dinner. I could only imagine how sad that would be.

After our dinner, Malia, Trevor, & I went out for a beer to lift our spirits. Of course, since it was a Thursday, we almost missed the last U-Bahn back home. After 4 months, and we still weren't used to the U-Bahn quitting at 12:20 on Thursdays.

On Friday, we started the day out right. Marco & I went to Mustafa's. It has "Berlin's best döner." The döner they serve is actually chicken and vegetarian. The difference for Mustafa's is that they use cooked veggies instead of raw vegetables, like the rest. Also they put cheese on there too. It was pretty good! I really liked it. The only strange this was the cooked vegetables - for me at least. I think it's because I ate "normal döner" for so long that I couldn't get that taste out of my head. I fulfilled my Berlin specialties list: best currywurst and best döner. haha.

Afterward we met Anna, Malia, & Trevor at Tacheles. Tacheles is an old department store that artists took over and live in. It was unlike anything I've ever seen before (that's not saying much...since I haven't seen a lot, but trust me - it was really cool!). There are several floors to the building and each floor has rooms or areas that are filled with artists. Most allow you to walk through their area and purchase some of their work. Of course the building has it own unique smells - mostly urine. The building isn't heated, so it was very cold in there. From the looks of it, some of the artists live there, while others don't. I don't think I would be scared to go there by myself, just a little nervous haha. Out back, they have a really cool shop where artists make sculptures out of metal. I took some pictures, so you'll just have to see what I mean.

Later that night, Malia, Anna, Trevor, Lisa, Keith, & I went out for our final good bye dinner. We tried the Kartoffel Keller, but it was full. So we ended up at a nearby restaurant. I felt schnitzel was a fitting last meal in Berlin. We all had a great time. When we finished, it was really hard saying good bye to these people who I had spent so much time with in the past 4 months. They literally were like my family in Berlin. We all knew each other so well, and leaned on each other from time to time - a little bit of physically and figuratively :) I suck with good byes, so I did my usual "Until next time." It always givse me hope that I will see them again. Malia, Trevor, & I had become the 3 Musketeers. I couldn't imagine going back to a world without them. They made plans to visit me in Chicago over spring break, so hopefully those 3 months separating us won't be too hard.

Afterwards, Trevor and I went to one last bar. We closed out the night in perfect fashion. I fulfilled my goal of drinking on the U-Bahn. However, I was classy and had wine haha! It was a great night to finish out the semester. In the morning, Marco & I would be flying to Egypt!! As sad as it sounds, my despair of leaving my friends overshadowed my excitement for Egypt.

Last Finals of College!! (December 6 & 7)

On Monday I had my business cultures final. It was simply just 2 essay questions. It wasn’t too bad, but I wrote more for that final than I did on the term paper. Almost 11 pages in only 2 hours. Whew, my hand was cramping up after that. I went back home to start studying for the legal traditions final on Tuesday. Then out to dinner for Italian food. It actually was surprisingly good pasta.

Tuesday I woke up to my shoe sitting outside my bedroom door filled with goodies. Today was St. Nicholas Day. It was so adorable! "St. Nick"  had given me a “Germany” candle that my host Mom made the weekend we were in Boltenhagen, candy of course, a cute little bag, and a little bear. It definitely started my day out right.

After that I went to FU BEST for the last time to take my European Legal Traditions final. I was expecting it to be quite difficult, but fortunately I had studied just enough information to be able to answer the questions I needed to. After our final, Anna & I decided to go to the Kartoffel Keller to celebrate. If it seems to you like I frequent this place, you’re exactly right. I am in love with their food! They do potatoes like no one before has done potatoes! I walk in and the same waiter is working that I've always had. I guess I was overcome with joy to see a familiar face that I greeted him with a big ole "HEY." He stared at me dumbfounded.

After stuffing ourselves to no end, we met Malia & Reid at the Hamburger Bahnhof Museum. It was a pretty cool museum. They had a lot of modern art. I found everything really interesting. They even had reindeer in the museum. They collect their pee and sell it at the museum. Apparently reindeer can eat special mushrooms that people can’t eat without getting sick. They are the red topped mushrooms that are in cartoons. Well apparently these mushrooms are a psychedelic. So if people drink the reindeer pee they receive the high. It’s actually quite expensive to buy. About 1000€ for some. I believe that may be a big bottle though.

Also the museum had this exhibit that was insane. It actually was animal fat. It was huge!! They had several blocks of it in the room. It was quite insane to realize what it actually was after you initially saw it. The artist filled a pedestrian tunnel with fat in 1977. Afterwards it was cut into the blocks and put in the display. It didn’t smell that bad now anymore, just more like a strange smell, but I guess after it was done it smelled a lot. That is modern art haha!

After that, I took Marco to see Berlin at night – Potsdamer Platz, Brandenburger Tor, etc. Berlin really is gorgeous decked out in Christmas lights! It was so cold walking around though! I feel like I complain about the cold a lot. I don’t remember it being this cold at Purdue though. Maybe I’ve just become a softie now.

Week of November 29 - December 3

Monday we didn’t have German class to compensate for our night excursion on Tuesday. I decided to take the opportunity to go to the KaDeWe, or the Kaufhaus des Westens. It is the second largest mall in Europe. It’s a very high end, upscale mall. They had Louis Vuitton, Gucci, etc. Basically brands that I can’t dream of being able to afford. But the majority of the mall was one giant store with 8 floors. They really had everything in that store. I ended up buying some souvenirs there and some chili chocolate. It was a really cool store to see.

Later, I went to my business cultures class and got my term paper back. I forgot to mention this was the first term paper I’ve had to write since my senior year of high school, with the exception of business type things. And to top it off, the professor wanted our experiences and opinions in there along with the research. My own opinion?! What?! It actually was a fun paper to write. Dad, he really enjoyed the story about how we had to put up the 50 foot tower to get Internet. Overall, I learned very little from that class, but he was an entertaining professor. But I did learn about the burquini haha. 

Tuesday Trevor, Anna, and I went to the Weihnachtsmarkt in front of Alexanderplatz, which basically is the tourist Christmas market. It kind of sucked to be honest. They had a “sled riding” hill. Literally you got a tube and went down an ice hill. It looked semi fun, but I don’t pay to go sled riding haha. After that we were on a mission to find Dolores. They have the best burritos in Berlin. They are equivalent to a Chipotle burrito. All we knew was that they were somewhere around the area. After much searching, I finally asked. I pulled out my best German and asked if they knew where it was. The mall security guard responded with, “My English is not so good. I don’t understand you.” I laughed and said that I was speaking  German. I guess my Berlin accent just isn’t there haha. This isn’t the first occurrence. No matter what, when you speak German to Germans, they immediately recognize your American accent and immediate switch to English. My host family told me they’re just anxious to practice their English, like I’m anxious to practice my German. Oh well, Malia came through and looked up the address for me. Finally we had found Mexican heaven! The burritos were AMAZING! So many choices. It was modeled after Dolores Park in San Fran. I definitely would be returning there!

After eating, it was time for our German class excursion. We went to the Weihnachtsmarkt at the Kulturbraueri. As a note there are tons and tons of Christmas markets all over the city. There is a market everywhere you turn. Each one has some sort of specialty, whether it be the area it’s located in or specializes in antique things, hand crafts, etc. This market was pretty small, but it was nice. Again, it was freezing cold. Everyone kept saying it got unseasonably cold early, but they said the same thing all of August and September. I guess I was just here for the extreme seasons. Today it finally snowed some; not that much just enough to get me wishing for snow. 

Again I had a glühwein. This time it was much better! It actually tasted good. I have come to realize that it depends on who makes it. The tastes varies so widely. Again I kept the mug; only 1€ this time. This Christmas market had an absinth bar. It also had these crazy huge coats that you sat in that were over heaters. Kind of cool. It was a nice outing with our class. It was crazy to realize I spend 12 hours a week with these people. I felt like I knew them so well. Sadness began to rush in when I realized that in 2 days we would take our final, and I wouldn’t see these people again. The end was truly coming near, and the more I realized it, the more I wished for time to drag. There is so much that I want to see here in Berlin yet. So much studying that I needed to do, that I don’t want to do.

After the Christmas market, we all went to a tapas bar. BUT they didn’t even have sangria. What kind of tapas bar doesn’t have sangria! It was so nice to spend the evening with my class. It sounds lame, but I really wish we would do that more in the US. I can’t even say I know that many people in my major at Purdue. I had class with them 4 days a week too, but you just don’t talk outside of class. Anywho, that’s that, and I’m 3 finals away from finishing my undergrad career!! Bittersweet!

On Wednesday, Malia & I decided to go to the Dahlem Kunst & Kultur Museen (Art & Culture Museum). They had some really cool things there. I swear they employ former STASI guards as the “stewards” aka exhibit guards. I must look like I’m going to destroy things because they stuck to me like glue. Literally I would turn the corner and a new guard would be there to watch me. I was touching a map of the United States showing Malia where I live, and a guard came over and yelled at me. It wasn’t even a display. It literally was a sign with a map on it. I think I must look like a terrorist. Despite all that, I really enjoyed the museum. They had exhibits from different Islandic cultures. Malia is Hawaiian, so it was pretty cool to have her insight. 

The big excitement for the day was all the snow we got! It snowed and snowed and snowed! Which created problems the next day for transportation. It was the earliest snow Berlin had got in 70 years! The S Bahns were extremely late. The busses were even worse, and every mode of public transportation was packed! Our professor was even late for our final. The best part was that one girl didn’t even bother to show up.

After our German final, Trevor and I went to see the inside of the Charlottenburg Schloss (castle).  I had really been wanting to see the inside, and time was nearing the end. Already German class was finished. Crazy. I love being a student still; the discounts are awesome! There are 2 wings to the castle, a new and an old wing. I got in the first room, pulled out my camera, and already got yelled at. Apparently you needed to purchase a 3€ permit to take pictures inside. Stupid, but I ended up buying it anyway. I guess taking that one photo without the permit alerted the guards that I was trouble. Again, I felt like a terrorist. I could feel their eyes boring into me every step I made. The castle was pretty cool, but most of it was destroyed during the war. So most of it was reconstruction. They had a cool room with all the original snuff boxes. 

Since the Weihnachtsmarkt was open when we left, I of course had to shop again. I ended up buying 2 necklaces. I knew I had become a true German when I didn’t equate anything back to USD I just bought it. We walked the Kudamm home. It is absolutely gorgeous when it’s decorated for Christmas, and with all the snow. We saw a Berlin bear standing on its head. For some reason, I got this strong urge to imitate the bear. I felt like Superwoman in that instant. I had no fear or hesitation of trying to stand on my head. And thus began the endless tries. Trevor tried to help me. After 2 tries of trying to stand on my hands, I failed, and my wrist was hurting. So instead I had the genius idea of trying to stand on my actual head. Even stupider idea. That hurt worse yet. Finally I gave up, bruised ego, my wrist hurting, and Trevor laughing. To console myself, we went to Happy Hour. Always a good time!

On Friday morning we had our end of the year meeting with Daddy Dirk, our program director. We filled out papers giving the date we were leaving the country. It was quite sad! After that Malia, Trevor, & I went to see the Neues Museen (New Museum). It houses the Egyptian wing, and I wanted to prepare myself. Just 8 days and I would be on my way to Cairo! The museum was pretty cool. They had a lot of neat pieces, including Nefertiti’s head. This visit just confirmed my thoughts that the guards are former STASI. They are so mean, so unkind, so scolding. And I didn’t even do anything this time. 

Friday night my host family & I went to an Irish pub. I had been dying to have a shepherd’s pie! I’ve never had one and it just sounded good. So they searched a pub for us and we all went. It was a lively atmosphere, just like any Irish pub. The music was pretty good, except that they did covers for popular American music, so a little bit strange. The shepherd’s pie was disappointing. I guess I didn’t really know what one was. I was envisioning something like a pot pie, but it wasn’t. It was a layer of meat with a giant layer of mashed potatoes and cheese. On the way home, we all had a snowball fight. It was so much fun! Nothing like chasing Thimo down the streets of Berlin. When we got to the door to go inside his words, “Tomorrow you will eat snow Laura.” Haha! I love that kid!

Saturday night we all went out for one last evening with a large group of friends. We went to the house of 100 beers. They had a lot of beer to choose from, but the atmosphere kind of sucked. We ended up finishing the night at another bar nearby. It was such a fun night, but sad realizing it would be the last time seeing a lot of those people. 

Sunday was filled with studying for the business cultures midterm on Monday. To take a break, my host family invited me on a walk in the woods behind the Charlottenburg castle. I had run out of pants to wear, so I put on black stockings, gray capri sweatpants, and tennis shoes. My host Mom was horrified by this outfit. It did look pretty funny, but I wasn’t too concerned about it. We had rode bike here earlier in September, but now the landscape was covered in snow. It was so pretty! We all ended up having a little snowball fight throughout the entire walk. It was such a pretty walk through the woods. My host Mom bought me this amazing pocket-like sandwich. It had “cheap” cheese, tomatoes, and kraut. It was so delicious! And it was hot! Again, I had a glass of gluhwein. This one definitely was the best one I’ve had! I actually really, really liked this one!

Sunday night one of my friends from Chicago, Marco, flew in to spend the week in Berlin before we go to Egypt. We had quite possibly the worst döner I’ve ever had. Alex, it still was good, just not amazing :P Then it was back to the grind of studying.

My First Weihnachtsmarkt (11.21.10)

The next day, Sunday, we got tons of phone calls saying how everyone enjoyed the evening. I was so happy that my host family cared enough to have a special holiday for me!

That evening, my host family met Trevor and his family at the Weihnachtsmarkt in front of Charlottenburg Schloss (Christmas market in front of Charlottenburg castle). The Christmas market was gorgeous! They even had the castle lit up. There were rows and rows and rows of stands. It was crazy bitter cold; something like 10 degrees Fahrenheit, and even colder with the windchill. Never had I been so happy to have a cup of glühwein. This one actually tasted better, but still not anything I would request. It kept my hands warm for a few minutes, so I was happy. They served it in these nice mugs that had a hand painted picture of the castle and listed the year of the Weihnachtsmarkt. Obviously they knew people would want to keep them, so they charged a 3€ deposit. I still decided to keep mine. My host Mom insisted that I tried the champignons. The mushrooms were served in a garlic sauce. They were quite delicious.

We walked around through the aisles.  There was everything from handmade candles, to Christmas items, to handmade scarves,  to chocolate covered peppers. They truly had anything you could imagine. It was a very nice setup. I was suckered into buying a scarf made of raw silk. Thinking back, I definitely did not need it or need to pay that much for it, but isn’t that how it always goes haha. They had these amazing roasted nuts. Corry bought some and I just couldn’t stop eating them! They were warm and coated in a sugar glaze. A very nice atmosphere seeing the castle at night. By the time we left there, I couldn’t feel my toes anymore. It was incredible how cold it was. Just made me realize how much I’m dreading moving to Chicago.

The rest of the evening was filled with hot chocolate and paper writing. By the way, they don’t really have hot chocolate like we do in the US. They have something sort of like it, but definitely not the same. Thank goodness Trevor’s Mom brought some American hot chocolate for all of us.

DANKFEST! (Thanksgiving)

DANKFEST! That is a rough translation of Thanksgiving. There is no such thing as Thanksgiving in Germany, for obvious reasons. However, after I told my host family about our traditions for Thanksgiving they decided to have a mock Thanksgiving on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I was really excited for this. It was going to be sad not to be at home for the holiday. 

On actual Thanksgiving day, I had probably the hardest day I’ve had here in Berlin. Trevor’s Mom and sister came for the week, and Malia & Anna had class the rest of the Thursday. After German, I went home and waited to Skype with my parents. I waited and waited, but no one was online. So instead I ended up working on my legal traditions term paper due the next Tuesday. I wrote the paper on the STASI, their prison, and prisoners. It was such a lame, sad day. It was really hard to be at home all myself the whole day and night, knowing that everyone else was with their families.

BUT all was made up for. Corry and I spent all day Friday preparing for our get together on Saturday. We cooked, baked, cleaned, decorated, just about anything you can imagine. Oh and somehow my host family has over 30 wine glasses, 30 prosecco glasses, well over 30 regular cups, plates, utensils, bowls, and small plates. Corry and I made dressing. That was quite interesting. We used a recipe from Corry’s coworker. It was an English recipe translated into German. I’m not sure where it originated from, but it definitely had interesting ingredients. It called for pumpkin, cranberries, nuts, etc. I guess I’m just used to the dressing we make at home, but it seemed strange that it didn’t have any meat. We prepared it on the stove. It smelled really good with the cranberries and all.

Friday night, I had a craving for pizza. So I asked if we could order pizza for supper. Little did I know what their “pizza” is like. It’s paper thin; literally I think I could see through the crust. Oh and if you picked up a piece all the toppings slide off the pizza. It was quite possibly some of the worst pizza I’ve ever had! I can’t wait for some good ole Papa John’s pizza when I get back!

Oh and for the turkey. That’s a story in itself. Andre happened to see a turkey at the store on the past Tuesday, so he snatched it up. Turkeys are not common in Germany at all. So they let the turkey set out the entire day on Tuesday. It actually unthawed. I didn’t want to insult them and tell them that it needs to stay refrigerated, so I just kept my mouth shut – promising myself to not eat any turkey. A few days later I found the turkey on the balcony. I figured it was better than leaving it inside. So today Corry brought the turkey in to unthaw again. When it thawed, we took the packaging off to reveal this hideous looking naked bird. Neither of us wanted to touch it. In all our screaming, I noticed a giant black spot on the turkey. I thought oh no, it’s started rotting. We decided to leave it until Andre got home. It was probably the funniest thing I’ve seen. All of us gathered around this turkey. We were all scared to touch it. Finally Andre took charge and pulled the neck and other items out of the turkey. Still the black spot was there. I was completely grossed out by this. Finally Andre got tired of listening to me and brought out the scissor to cut the spot out of the turkey. It turned out it was actually the bag. Oh, thank goodness we got that out of there. So we ended up leaving the turkey set out the entire day. It was naked, outside the packaging. They wanted to set it outside like that. I talked them into putting it in the refrigerator at least. We covered it with a paper towel and set it in the fridge. I still kept thinking, “No way am I going to eat any of that turkey. It’s probably spoiled already.” When we baked the turkey, we all had different ideas of what we were supposed to do. They wanted to put the dressing inside it and bake it. I finally convinced them that wasn't a good idea. My parents told me to stuff some vegetables inside to keep it moist.  Despite Andre’s shoves we only fit an onion and half a potato inside. That turkey was smathered with so many spices, herbs, butter, bouillon, etc.

Corry also made pumpkin soup, mashed potatoes, gravy, pasta salad, potato salad, cous cous, and tons of desserts. We even bought fruit especially to decorate the tables. When this lady throws a dinner party, she goes all out! All together we had about 30 people invited. Thank goodness not everyone showed up because there definitely was not enough seating for everyone. Trevor, his mom, his sister, Malia, & Anna came. 

The turkey looked amazing when it came out of the oven – golden brown – maybe I would rethink not eating any. None of us knew how to carve a turkey. My host family had this Hollywood image from TV of just putting the turkey on the table and everyone carves themselves a piece. I tried and tried to explain that this wouldn’t work for 30 people. Not to mention our turkey weighed less than 10 pounds. It actually looked like a large chicken. Thank goodness Trevor was there to step. He worked like a champ tearing that turkey apart. Andre and I deboned it. It worked quite well, except there wasn’t very much meat. My host family’s words, “There’s so little meat from such a big animal. Such a waste.” They even wanted to pull the fat off and include that.

The night turned out fabulously. The food was amazing. The dressing was actually better than the dressing I’ve always had. It had a sweet flavor. The turkey, well I just had a small piece, but it tasted good at least. Everyone had a lot of fun. Our first German “Thanksgiving” was a great success.

Weekend Getaway - Boltenhagen (November 19-21)

My host family invited me to spend the weekend with them at their vacation home in Boltenhagen.  Boltenhagen is near Lübeck, where my host Mom is originally from.  We were supposed to leave at 4:30 PM.  So I made sure I was ready. At 4:30, no one was even home yet.  Time came and went and finally we left at 7 PM. Again, everything I’ve heard about Germans being punctual has not applied to my experience here. I’m not sure if it is my host family or if everyone else is like this as well in Berlin.

The drive was horrible again.  I had decided to catch up on blogging on the way there. That was the worst decision! I can honestly say that I have never been car sick before coming here. I can read, work, anything in the car, but not here. Just sitting there makes me sick. Their driving is something out of an action film. Suddenly slamming on the brakes only to floor it again. Rinse and repeat this for 3 hours. At the end I literally had to close my eyes and “go to my happy place.” haha. So from my experiences on the autobahn, I can say that I am not a fan. I assume it’s much better to drive on it than to be a passenger though. It is true that there is no speed limit. Although some portions do have a speed limit. In areas where there have been a lot of accidents, they post speed limits, but otherwise it’s free reign. My host Mom told me that car companies used to send their test drivers to the autobahn to test out the car. A few years ago, a test driver hit a car killing the mother and child. The driver served time, and I believe that put a damper on that sort of testing there. But of course there are still people who drive insanely fast on there. Even in Berlin there are people who actually race on a street one block up from my house. Corry was telling me how they set a time and everyone shows up, including spectators. They listen to the police scanners and then have something like 3 minutes to get everyone cleared out before the cops come. To me, it seems like something straight out of Fast & Furious.

Anywho, when we got to their house I was in utter and complete shock. It was gorgeous! Their vacation home was tons nicer than their actual home. Everything was decorated so nicely. My host Mom’s artwork lined the walls too. It really felt cozy. I had found my dream home haha. To top it off, they have solar panels on the roof. All the energy they produce, they sell to the government. During the summer they rent the house out for groups of people to stay in. I believe they said that with the solar panels and the rentals they will have the house paid off in 10 years. Oh and the absolute best part about the house….the bathroom floors were heated!! Ahh! That felt amazing in the mornings!

That night Corry and I stayed up talking for awhile. She is such an amazing woman! She has so many experiences and stories to tell. Although the saddest part was when she was talking about marriage. In a nutshell she said that she wasn’t completely in love with Andre, but knew that he wanted kids and would be a good father, so she married him. She went on to say that sometimes you just have to do that. I was sad for her. Now all the interactions between them made complete sense. My host Dad is wonderful, but all he does is argue, with everyone. He belittles you until you just give in and say he’s right. I couldn’t help but see how open minded and lively my host Mom is, and how close minded and argumentive my host Dad is.

The next day, Saturday, Thimo and I were to ride bike into town and meet Andre and Corry at the store. Andre got the “short bike” out for me, lowered the seat all the way, but still I couldn’t even begin to reach the pedals. Then he got the “children’s” bike out. I still couldn’t really reach the pedals. I had to tippy toe to reach the ground on that bike. I sucked it up and made do. Never had I felt so short. These people really are giants! My 12 year old host brother is a foot taller than me. We rode to town, it was a nice scenic ride along the beach and through the forest. When we got there, I had never been happier to walk again. We grocery shopped to make cookies the next day. Then Corry and I went to a shop next door to make candles. I was super excited! I had never made candles before. It actually was much easier than I thought it would be. We picked out forms. Then we picked which color wax we wanted, broke up the wax into little pieces and put it in the form. When you had filled it, you went to the color of hot wax that you wanted and filled the form to the top with the liquid wax. I made 3 candles. I was pretty proud of myself, but we had to let them set a day before we could pick them up. The guy who owned the shop was telling me that he had a shop in Chicago, but the insurance was too high. He said Americans are stupid and can’t handle scalding, hot wax. I completely agree with that statement. I dropped the lid in the wax pit and almost burned myself too.

After this, Corry wanted to go to a local Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market). It truly was in the country. The stands were set up in barns, right along with the animals outside. A famous popular drink at Weihnachtsmarkts is gluhwein. I had never had it so Corry insisted I had to try it along with gluhwein cake too. One sip of the gluhwein and I knew I hated it. It tasted so horrible. And the cake…not that much better. Gluhwein is a cheap wine seasoned with spices. I have no idea what spices or how to make it though. (Later I would have much better gluhwein and actually like it.) They had a lot of neat things for Christmas. They were fairly inexpensive too considering they were handmade. I had my first grunkohl soup also. I’m not really sure what kind of vegetable it is, but I’ll post a picture of it. It basically was a soup filled with tons of greens and few other vegetables. It wasn’t too bad actually. And of course we had bratwurst. 

By the time we left there it was dark. The whole car ride back I was wondering how we would get our bikes back. Soon enough I found out. When we got back to the store where we had parked our bikes, it became apparent that we were to ride the bikes back to the house….in the dark….with no street lights. Overreacting as usual, my first thought was, “Oh no, someone is going to hit me, and it’s not even going to be a cool story. Just oh I got hit riding a children’s bike in the dark.” Naturally nothing bad happened at all, Thimo took me home on the back roads and along the beach. We stopped to get some nice photos at night. Oh, and since I forgot to mention it earlier, it was very cold this weekend. It was in the low 20s or upper teens. When we got back, they had some hot tea ready for us. It was a really nice evening. We all sat there and read, or did something quietly. It was the first book I’ve read in a long time! Although it was for my term paper, but still kind of a pleasure book. It was the story of my tour guide at the STASI prison. 

The next morning, we had a giant spread of breakfast items just like the morning before. The breads were “special” compared to our usual breads. We had rolls with cheese on top, multigrain ones, etc. Also, the jelly was quite good. It’s from a berry that grows on the Baltic Sea. It’s called Sanddorn. I looked it up and it says it grows in California also, but I’ve never heard of it or seen it. It’s a small orangish berry. I also love the tea from this berry. 

After breakfast, Corry and I made cookies. We made these vanilla little moon shaped cookies that you roll in sugar. Not that flavorful in my opinion, but they seemed to love them. Also, we made these coconut cookies. There are these crazy little disks that you bake them on. They are literally bread wafers. Corry said they are what the church uses as the “bread.” She was right. It tasted exactly like that. Those cookies turned out pretty good. You eat the bread wafer with the cookie. Crazy.

After our Betty Crocker experience, we went to town to pick up the candles. I was surprised by how cheap they were, and amazed at how pretty they looked. The only downside, they didn’t have any fragrance. I was definitely proud of my candles.

Sunday night before returning to Berlin, we had the most amazing supper ever. We had mashed potatoes with gravy, these things that I think are brussel sprouts maybe…I’m not sure of the name, they look like little cabbages. Oh and the brussel sprouts were glazed in bacon pieces and butter. It was quite tasteful. I was so happy to see mashed potatoes I nearly cried. And with gravy too!!! This was such a shock because mashed potatoes are for old people without teeth and babies according to Corry. And gravy, well they just think that is strange. Earlier in the month we had decided to have a mock Thanksgiving. I believe she was practicing the mashed potatoes since I told her how much Americans love mashed potatoes.

I was sad to leave their house. It actually was a wonderfully, relaxing weekend. It felt so good. Then when we got home I had to write the rest of my business cultures term paper about whether the Internet will replace newspaper and a comparison of the situation between the United States and Germany. It's wasn't as boring as it sounds actually haha.

Beer, Beer, & More Beer (München) (11.11-11.14)

Thursday:
Today we left for München (aka Munich). It was so hard to sit through 3 hours of German class when I already had my suitcase along and was heading straight to the airport.  Trevor & I decided to fly because the train ride was something ridiculous like 10 hours. The flight was only an hour and about $300, so not too bad. We flew out of Tegel. As an fyi in case you wanted to know, Berlin has 2 airports: Tegel and Schonefeld, the former West and East airports. In 2 years they are closing Tegel and everything will fly out of Schonefeld, which means it will be hella busy! For future reference in case you needed to know.

The flight was really nice! We flew Air Berlin. We were actually allowed a free checked bag which is rare. I give major props to both Berlin airports and Munich airport. They all have the luggage claim right outside where you get off the plane. I don't know who the geniuses are that thought of this, but it actually makes sense and saves you from running over the entire airport. Efficiency! What the Germans are known for haha! Oh and on the luggage claim there was a pet carrier box going around and around. I kept thinking poor dog, no one has picked him up yet. Then I saw another one on the gate claim next to us. I looked in the cage and nearly had a heart attack! There was a man in there...or a doll rather. It scared the crap out of me! It had a sign on the cage saying something about cheap travel. I tried to get a picture of it, but man that belt moves faster than you think.

The hotel we stayed in was pretty nice. But the elevator was teeny tiny! I could barely fit my suitcase in there with Trevor & I. Of course we had to be on the top floor then. To start our trip off right, we went to a beer hall near our hotel. When I walked in I thought, yep this is Munich -- everything I thought it would be. It was so loud and busy! Waitresses hauling beer steins everywhere and plates of food too. Man those waitresses must have had to work out to be hired. I could barely lift my own glass of beer. The main part of the hall was filled...literally there were not two spaces open at any table. So we sat in a side room. In Germany, you walk in and sit at a table as long as it doesn't have a sign saying it is reserved.

I ordered weiner schnitzel. Oooo my was it amazing! Oh and I had to order a pretzel of course. Real Germans don't seem to eat pretzels, or at least not that I saw, but it's just so expected that I had to. Trevor got some collection of meat. I believe I have a picture of it. And of course we had beer too. We were mid into our meal when two other people sat at our table. In Berlin, we were always out with several other people, so this was the first time I experienced this. We were only at a 4 person table, so it was a little awkward at first. If I could hear every word they were saying, only if I could understand it. Only a few words were comprehendable.


We walked around the city for the rest of the night. It didn't seem like a city at all compared to Berlin. Everything seemed so barren. It was strange. We saw an interesting "store" if you can call it that. It literally was a store with several booths were you could close the curtain and porn. Each stall came equipped with a box of Kleenex too hahahah!


It's a strange thing...they have newspaper boxes on the street where you can buy the day's newspaper, but it's an honor system to deposit your money. Germans, they are just so trusting! That would never work in the US! The next bar we went to had the next day's paper already. I'm not even sure how that works. We got there at 9. Maybe that bar had the hook up with the newspaper idk. Strange. Oh and my little faux pas. I only saw a sign that indicated restrooms with an arrow. So I went in. I found it strange....there was this long bar with a giant TV, but I went in a stall and thought I would check it out when I finished. When I came out of the stall, the long bar was actually a trough for urinals. The guy urinating was just as surprised as I was. That explained it all...no wonder the stall was so dirty!

When we left the last bar, it was pouring down rain! For some unknown reason we still decided to walk. I had an umbrella, but Trevor didn't. We walked and walked and walked. We were so lost and had no map at all. I know you sense a common theme with all my experiences...no map. You are exactly right! By the time we decided to wait at a bus stop, we were completely drenched. And it was a little chilly that night, so it made it all the worse. We got home late, nearly frozen. 

Friday:
Today we slept in. Thank goodness I brought an extra pair of shoes, because my other ones were still yet. I learned from that night in Italy: walking around lost in the rain. Yep, a common theme again. We ate breakfast at a cozy little restaurant. I ordered pancakes. I don't know why I thought these pancakes would be different than any other in Europe. And they weren't. They resembled crepes. Oh well, they were amazingly delicious with fresh fruit. That little slice of banana was the first banana I've had since I've been in Germany. I used to always eat them in the States. I'm not sure if it was the long absence of banana, but it tastes weird to me. Oh and the strawberries....to die for!  

We saw the church that has the Glockenspiel. I don't know the name of it besides that. Yep, the Glockenspiel was just like I pictured it - a bit too over-hyped. In the center of that square was apparently where 2 popes had been. They had a statue to commemorate it. And of course we saw the Hofbrauhaus. Considering we had just eaten and it was a little to early for beer for me, we decided to come back later. Thus started the lengthy souvenir searching. All I can say is that I have absolutely no self control when it comes to buying things. I used to actually have a budget and stick close to it. But now, phew I can't pass up anything. I'm not sure if that's because I know I start working in a couple of months or if it's lasting effects of Chicago and me comparing it and saying how much cheaper it is. Either way, I left there with 4 bags of souvenirs. I can't even remember everything I bought, but here are the highlights: a 2 liter glass beer boot, a 1 liter boot, 2 beer steins, probably like 10 small glass boots, a 1 liter Hofbrauhaus "mug," T-shirt, postcards, and magnets. See what I mean - no self control. I believe I spent somewhere around 400 Euros on souvenirs that trip. *Gasp*


And then to top off my shopping, I decided to look for a dirndl. Many were crazy expensive, but I found a store that only sells dirndls. You probably are asking what a dirndl is. It's the typical dress that the women at Oktoberfest wear...you know the beerfraus. I'll post a picture in case you still can't picture it. I had no idea what size dirndl I would wear, just not something I've tried on before. Luckily I guessed right. I put on the whole get up. I came out and the lady goes umm oh no no girl. And she unzips everything and proceeds to pull, tuck, and tie. When she finishes it looked amazing! I wish I would have thought to take a picture after she did her magic. Oh and there was a sign saying if you took a picture you had to buy it, which I did, but I was still scared haha. Just so you ladies know for Oktoberfest sometime, the apron thing...you tie it on the left side if you are single and the right side if you are not. (I know my picture is wrong. It was easier to say I was not single than to explain anything. I.e. Trevor was sitting there. Oh, and P.S. all our conversations were in German! I was so proud of myself!) Anywho, I bought the dirndl get up and have decided to wear it to all the Christmas' this year....maybe even to church....


The rest of the day we walked around the main part of Munich. It is lined with tons and tons of shops. Reminds me of the Kudamm in Berlin. We stopped at a beer hall along there to eat (and drink of course). Immediately when I walked in, I loved it. The atmosphere was even better than last night if that was possible. We spotted two empty seats on one of the tables, so after asking if they were free, we sat down. The beer halls are filled with benches of people. You sit in between people you don't know. This time I was inbetween an older man who was there with his drinking buddies and some stuck up rich people from I have no idea where. I got schnitzel again. Yep, I really take advantage of meat when I am able to since I only have bread in Berlin. I order a liter beer and killed that thing. Eating pretzels with it made me feel like I was at Oktoberfest or something haha. And then I had another one. And that one went down smoothly too. The funny thing is that I left the bar that night almost completely sober. And I walked Trevor home; he only had 2.75 liters. I guess he is only 20 though, and I'm seasoned haha :P 


The older man who was on the one side of me was a hoot! He was so much fun!! Him and his friends were talking to us all the time. Most of the time I couldn't understand anything they were saying so I would nod and smile. Sometimes I guess he asked questions because he would just stare at me. The guy immediately beside me would translate Munich German into "high German" or German without all the accent and regional slang. I was proud that I understood that and was able to have a conversation with him. Apparently this was the local hangout spot. This man knew everyone that came in. Soon our table was huge...expanding over 2 tables. There was this one creepy young guy who was impressed with my drinking and kept taking pictures of me with his phone. And then he got a hold of my camera, so I have several photos of me. Such a fun night! I love Munich!!!


Saturday:
Today we got up at the butt crack of dawn to catch a train to Fussen, which is where Neuschwanstein castle is. Neuschwanstein is the castle Disneyland was modeled after. It was one of the castles of King Ludwig II. The castle was actually never finished. Only 3 floors are finished I believe. I can't remember exactly from our tour.

We had to change trains in order to get to Fussen. We were both tired from our night before. It was a miracle we woke up to even know when to get off. Once we got to Fussen it was what I pictured Germany to look like. It was a typical, little, cozy southern German town. I loved it! We then had to take a bus to the castle. We bought ticket to see both Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein. Hohenschwangau was built by Ludwig II's father. You could only tour the castles with a guided tour. The ticket lady booked our first tour in 10 minutes from when we bought it. We really had to hoof it to get to Hohenschwangau in time. 


Hohenschwangau wasn't that impressive. They of course had some cool things in there. No pictures were allowed of course, but I did sneak some ;) Very few though. They had 100 year old bread in a case with salt. I forget the exact story, but it was a gift to Ludwig II's father when he was on some trip. It was crazy! It still held together. It definitely didn't look edible, but it was in great condition to be 100 years old. The tour was pretty good, but I wasn't too impressed.


We had to walk to Neuschwanstein for our next tour. It was crazy how long of a walk it was. It was all uphill too. Neuschwanstein is located in the mountains. When we got to the top, I was exhausted, but it was well worth it. Just the view was worth it. It was amazing! You could look out over the whole town. I took a million pictures. 


The tour of Neuschwanstein was much shorter than I expected. It was only about 45 minutes. Like I said earlier, not all the floors are finished in there. There was this really cool "passageway" though. It looked exactly like a cave in there. King Ludwig II lived in a world of fantasy they say and wanted that in there. I was impressed by that. Otherwise nothing was outstanding. Nothing compared to Versailles or even Sanscoussi. I really like those. The view from the castle Neuschwanstein was what really amazed me though!


After the tour, we walked to Mary's Bridge. It is a bridge that connects two mountains and you can take unobstructed pictures of the castle from there. The bridge didn't feel that sturdy, and there were tons of people on the bridge. I just couldn't help but picture the bridge breaking and falling to my death. I always wanted to sky dive haha. Fortunately nothing happened. We crossed to the other side where there was a path to climb the mountain. It said it took about 3 hours to get to the top. I have never been mountain climbing. The most I have done is run up a small hill in the back yard. But Trevor wanted to climb it. He convinced me by bribing me with how nice my pictures would be from the top. Damn him. Let me paint the picture of this for you... I had on jeans, a sweater, and my Pumas. Oh and my bright yellow purse...and oh and a bag of souvenirs. My Pumas have absolutely no grip on them at all. In fact they are just solid on the bottom. And they are white...they are not meant for even running up the aforementioned small hill, much less a mountain.


It was fine at first....of course it was still scary to look down and think about how far I would fall. I would probably have died for sure. Somewhere along the way the path ended (later I would find out we just completely missed the path). Trevor was in the lead, so he probably purposely steered us off the path. It was absolutely HORRIFYING! I was climbing up the hill by grabbing onto grass clumps and small trees. I slipped every second step I took. Trevor, being the gentleman that he is, at  least carried my bag of souvenirs. (Yes, I bought more.)  My legs were shaking so bad! I looked like a crack addict on day 3 of rehab. I couldn't stop my legs from shaking. And Trevor, used these encouraging words: If you didn't shake your damn legs so much, you wouldn't keep slipping. The entire climb was mixed with screaming and whimpering from me. And phrases like, "I'm going to fall down the mountain and die. AND WITHOUT even seeing the Glockenspiel do it's thing or being in the Hofbrauhas!" "Damnit Trevor, I hate you!" "You are buying me a beer if I make it to the top of this!"


We finally made it to the top of one section...only to find a path. Hallelujah! I was quite ecstatic. By this time it was 2 o'clock already. And it gets dark at 4 or 4:30. So we weren't sure if we could make it to the top or not before then and definitely not back down before it got dark. So we decided not to go to the top, even though it would have been cake considering we had found the trail again. Instead, Trevor wanted to make it to the next summit (or whatever it's called - top of the next peak idk). OF COURSE, there was no trail again. I said no because I couldn't even stop my legs from shaking. It was even hard to stand there. I said I would wait at the bottom for him. Trevor gave me all this shit about not wanting to go up. He turned him back to pee. I felt guilty, so I started climbing while he had taking care of that. By the time he came back, I was half way up the "hill" if you can call it that. It was some crazy climbing again. Thank goodness they had a fence along the side for me to try to pull myself up on. Of course the ground was muddy wet and so were the tree roots I was climbing on, which lead to me slipping sooo many times. When I finally got to the top, it was AMAZING! It felt so good to watch Trevor struggle haha. There was a couple up there picnicking too. The view was ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!! I can't even begin to explain it. You'll just have to see it in the pictures when I post them. It was a perfect spot too. In one direction you could see the castle and in the other a lake in between 2 mountains. It was amazing to be eye level with mountains! They even had snow at their peaks!

We stayed at the top for awhile, admiring, resting. It was probably my imagination, but even the air was easier to breathe. It really filled my lungs. It felt so amazing. All my bliss was shattering when I realized I would have to go down the mountain again. It was a very long way down....I swear I moved like a turtle. Every step was treacherous with my darn shoes. I only slipped once...but man it was a hard fall. (My butt hurt the next day.) Finally we got down that part and could continue descending on the trail. It was so simple on the way down because we were using the trail. I wish I could have gone all the way to the top. I made a vow to come back and next time I would come earlier in fall when the leaves were changing colors. I was so proud of myself that day! Probably one of the craziest things I've done. It was quite exhilarating though. I think I want to start hiking now. My quote of the day was, "I didn't hike that mountain; I fucking climbed that thing!"LOL


When we got down to the bottom where the ticket office was, we were both famished. So we ate at a nice, little restaurant there. I had mushroom schnitzel with bacon and spaetzle noodles. The noodles were really good and of course the schnitzel too. The mushroom gravy and the bacon really topped it off. I would even go so far as to say the entire meal was the best one I've had in Germany! Of course I topped it off with a grosses Fanta (big Fanta). 


We walked around a bit in Fussen before we left. It's a cute little town. We both fell asleep almost instantaneously when we got on the train to go home. Some how, Trevor woke up when it was our stop to transfer trains. I was out like a light. He even had trouble waking me. When we got back to the hotel, we dumped our stuff off, and made our way to the Hofbrauhaus. Finally, I was going to get to go to the Hofbrauhaus!!

The Hofbrauhaus was FANTASTIC! It topped all the other beer halls atmospheres! The floor was sticky with beer. They had a band of men with lederhosen playing. And the waiters were giant, strong men. They would carry 4 steins in each hand. It was quite insane!! Oh and their beer tap looked like a sodie fountain in the US. They selected the beer they wanted and out it came. I was  amazed. Again, we sat by people we didn't know. But it's ok, because the people are so friendly!! We got there just in time to order yet before they closed the kitchen. We ate and drank and talked with the people next to us. They were from a tiny, little town in southern Germany. It turns out the Hofbrauhaus closes at midnight. Fortunately we befriended the people next to us, and we walked around and drank with them.


Sunday:
Today we had our flight back to Berlin around 3 or so. Remember all the souvenirs I bought. Well I only brought my backpack and one suitcase. The problem was that they were all breakable and I didn't have enough room for everything. To make a very long story short, I bubble wrapped everything and was forced to put most of it in my suitcase which would be a checked bag. I was really nervous about doing this, but I had no other choice. Oh and Trevor only came with his backpack, which was full when we got there. He brought everything in bags and hoped there would be somewhere to buy a suitcase. If not, he was up shit creek. I was really glad I wasn't in his position. I think I may have cried if I were. 

We headed to the main part of Munich again. On previous days I had thought the Glockespiel plays on every hour. Oh how wrong I was. Only on 11 and 12 in the fall/winter. So I wanted to see that before we left for sure. We had brunch at a little cafe in the plaza where the church was so that we could video tape the performance. After much anticipation, it actually doesn't start on the hour, but rather about 5 minutes after. It was nice to see, but I still think it's overhyped. I think it probably has some long history and that is what is special. Pretty much the figures moved. I taped it, but I'm not sure if I can post video on here. I'll try.


Oh, and it was impossible to buy a suitcase because every store is closed on Sundays. HAHA! A little fact he had forgotten. So he just hoped there would be a store at the airport. Btw, the airport in Munich is really, really far out of the city! It is crazy how long it takes to get there via S Bahn. When we got to the airport, fortunately we found a suitcase store. Whew that was a relief!


Oh and I forgot to mention this, but along with the efficiency of German airports is security. They are actually very smart with this. Each area has their security that you go through. For instance, ours was only for our airline. And THERE WAS NO LINE!! Imagine that! It's was efficient and seemless. Well, except that I got patted down. The flight back was nice as well. They have TV screens for everyone. And I got a window seat. AND it was a clear day! That never happens! I got some cool pictures!


Only bad part of the trip; it turns out I left one of my sweaters at the hotel (the one I wore mountain climbing haha). I was so sad that I couldn't find it. I looked everywhere. I even emailed the hotel, but they claimed they didn't find it. I bet the cleaning lady took it, and is wearing it as I write this. Sadness! I still haven't even gone clothes shopping to repair this hole in my heart from losing it.


Sorry that the post is so long, but there was a lot that I did in Munich. Hope you enjoy! The pictures will come another day. I have to filter through over 700 to pick out which ones I want to post.