free wine tasting at a grocery store??? AWESOME

So I went to my favorite grocery store ( kinda like a smaller Whole Foods) the other day (the one where we found the Weight Watchers wine) and I can't believe I didn't see this before but they have a contraption that dispenses wine so you can try it and it's FREE!

How cool is that? Again, Germany was made for me :)

Later that night the students were nice enough to invite us old people to a poker game they were having. I was the only girl playing...shocker. And I was the chip leader for a while:

Yes, that is more Capt'n & coke in the can :)
Us old people were getting tired and having trouble keeping up with the youngins so we bet big, lost, and made our exit. We found out the next day that the game went until 3am! OMG. We were home by 11pm.

I found out yesterday that I don't have to take the final exam :) so last night Jean and I went to dinner to celebrate. Two American ladies out on the town. We went to Hemingway's (which is an English/British place) where we were waited on by the Cuban bartender who was playing Salsa music and we ordered Greek and Italian food. Quite the International evening. We had an easier time talking in Spanish to the waiter then we ever had trying German...go figure.
So that brings us to today...
I spent the day at the Salu (spa). It was amazing! The place is huge and has several pools, a waterslide and wave pool (mostly for the kids), regular pools (heated thank goodness), hot tubs, saunas, and other services like tanning and massages. I got the fitness package (stop laughing) because it included all day swimming and sauna use plus a massage. I started with the massage. Let me just say that things are a little different here than when you get a massage in the states. I was brought into a room by a very cute young German guy who spoke very little English and with some charades I told him where to focus and then just stared at him...cuz he wasn't leaving the room so I could undress... so after more charades, I determined I was just supposed to strip and get on the table...no, not under a sheet like we all are used to....and so of course I did. When in Rome...right? Kept my undies on since I am a lady (stop laughing) and then it began. I will spare you the details but let me just say that I guess they like to focus on the lower back (if you know what I mean) for quite a while. After my initial shock, I just went with it. After all, it's the most action I've had in years! All in all, it was great and much needed. Oh, and I opted out of the saunas as they were in a section where clothes were not welcome. We did get a free drink at the juice bar (which was in the sauna area) so we had our fill of nakedness and frankly that's as close as I wanted to get. Very interesting day and I feel very relaxed...or maybe that's from the wine:)
Still missing you all.

Only 1 week left!

I can't believe my time here is almost over :( There is still so much to see and do. This last week will be packed with as much fun as possible...oh and a final exam...if I'm not to hung over to make it to class :)
We went back to Hamburg to visit a local weekly newspaper and on the way back to the train station, passed a festival that was a celebration of France. Not sure why but something caught my eye as we were walking by...

Yep, pirate bar #2. Why don't we have these?

In case you are curious...the Baltic Sea is COLD!

Our latest adventure took us to Lubeck and Travemunde which is a beach town on the Baltic Sea. It wasn't raining but it wasn't exactly warm and neither was the water but I had to put my feet in anyways. I mean how often do I get to any beach?

the rest of our group were being babies so with much prodding I convinced them to also put a toe in.

They had these cute little cabana's that you could rent and hang out in... but thanks to mother nature we didn't hang out there long enough.

Instead, there was a festival going on so we decided to check it out. There were little stands selling all kinds of goods from T-shirts and jewelry, to food and booze. Here are some of my favorites..

Yes, that is more candy then you can imagine, a stand with rotating meat of every kind (I spared you all of the entire pig that was spinning into yumminess), a pirate ship bar (of course), and a salami and cheese stand! I seriously think Germany was created just for me.

Backtracking a bit, we first went to Lubeck which was a beautiful town with much history and was created in something like 1478. As we were hearing our tour guide explain all this rich history, we hear in the background behind us a bunch of people screaming in delight. As I turn around, there is a Ben & Jerry's ice cream truck (in front of this amazing historical gate into the city...see pic) giving out free ice cream to everyone. It was very strange but funny.

I was too far away to get a shot of the truck but it was directly behind me as I took this picture.

The other interesting sight was a bridge called the Doll Bridge (but in German) and it had all these statues along each side. Most were sort of ordinary but this one caught my eye (can't imagine why).

I miss you all but it will be hard to leave this amazing place!

Visit to Bremen

So a couple of weeks ago (yes I lag) we took the train to Bremen. It is known for a fairy tale about 4 aging animals that are about to be killed by their owners (it's a lovely story so far...right?) so they decide to run away and form a band in Bremen. You can look it up if you want to know more cuz I don't want to bore you. Anyway, there were several representations of this in the town but one famous one is outside the oldest part of the "city hall" and it's said if you grab both legs of the donkey and rub them while making a wish (I know what you're thinking) your wish will come true. So of course we had to do it. There were a lot of people doing this as you can imagine so purell came in handy!

I think it must have worked because the next day I found a $5 Euro bill on the street :)
Lots of other cool stuff to see there. One older section of town is known for its tiny streets. Now when I say tiny I don't mean short, I mean thin like one person at a time can walk through. It's crazy. Here is a picture of our USAC program director Soren in the smallest known street there.

and here's one more example

There were lots of cute shops there and great people watching as well. When you see a child trying to ride a giant brass pig....you just have to take a picture.

Again, amazing buildings and churches. There was a manhole on the main square that is actually a collection for needy people in the city. You drop coins through the slot in the middle and the a sound is heard of one of the four animals that are in the fairy tale story! We tried this several times and heard the donkey, cat, and rooster. It was really strange and cool :)

The last thing we did there was take a cruise on the river. Unfortunately the weather was horrible so we didn't get to hang out on the deck and take pictures, but in Holly's honor (cuz I was singing "I'm on a boat" the entire trip) I did take this shot after we got back. The guy in the cowboy hat is one of the students in our group.

Yes, more food!!! Potato Fest and Brunch...not the same day thank goodness

Ok, I'm so wishing I didn't get rid of my fat clothes during the move. Jim and I (per my insistence) decided to grab a beer and try almost every potato dish on the menu at a local beer garden. Man we were in heaven! Beer and potatoes....and cheese...YUM!

Then last Sunday we had our second brunch out. If I haven't already mentioned, the entire town (and country I think) shuts down and only restaurants and gas stations are open. Seriously, no store of any kind is open on Sunday. So off to brunch we went. The place was expensive (about $8 Euros) and if you want tap water it will cost you 50 cents (WTF?) but they had me at pancakes & bacon!

Yes, my pants are barely fitting! Thank god we walk almost everywhere. Of course it takes me less than one minute to walk to class so that doesn't help...but I do have to walk to the food :)

No Jenny but Weight Watchers Wine? WTF?

So my roomie Jim didn't believe me when I told him that I saw Weight Watchers wine in the local grocery store so I had to show him.

There was also something called a Bear Hug Vodka so of course we had to get a shot of that as well.

A guy & 2 girls go thru a window & down a ladder into a bar...

You know the evening will be one to remember when you start off going across the street from your house and find a cafe/bar that you enter by going thru a window and down a ladder. It is run by students and the drinks were the cheapest we have found so far. There was a "band" of misfits having a jam session...I think because it was a little hard to see thru all the smoke (from cigarettes & such). The picture of me and my roomie Jim was taken there. We then exited thru a regular door (thank goodness) after seeing the free swap room of clothes and we were off to our regular haunt the Irish pub for some more live music and great people watching. We came across some gents dressed in some fancy duds and found out that they had just graduated from some kind of carpentry program. They were nice enough to let me take a photo of them with Jean who is the other visiting prof who came out with us (see pic).

Is there Jenny Craig in Germany?

Guten Tag,
    I have found heaven! The food here (both street vendors and restaurants) is amazing. I am gaining weight by the hour. The bakeries/coffee shops are to die for. The amount of different kinds of bread and pretzels are insane.
Whoever thought of putting bacon and cheese baked into a pretzel is my hero! You can also get yummy pizzas and sandwiches togo as you are strolling around town...and don't get me started about the pastries and donuts! Oh, and who knew that the Captain with coke is available in a can???
AWESOME!

This ain't Chico

I never thought I would miss summer weather in Chico but damn it's not very warm here and I could sure use another sweatshirt!  Of course I think it's 104 in Chico so I guess I can't complain too much. It rains every day but not for very long. You can see it coming and I swear the clouds move faster here than at home.
Today I checked out the farmers market (see pic) which is in the main square of town and is amazing! The outside is lined with trucks sort of like taco vans only with display cases all along the sides. They have everything from meats (lunch meats and fresh steak), cheeses, pastas, hot dogs, salads (like egg & potato not lettuce), olives, mushrooms & stuffed peppers. Around 12 of these I think were there. Then  all in the middle was the fresh produce: fruit, veggies, nuts, etc. It was amazing. The market is every Wed & Sat.
Then went to the salt museum (since it's what Luneburg is known for). This town was created in 956...yes that was not a typo. I guess there was a huge party in 1956 for the 1000yr anniversary.  It was a very rich place when they were producing salt but that ended in the early 1980's.
Had a beer at one of the brewery's then off to a restaurant called Hemingway's for dinner since they had a burger special. More beer there and then to our Irish pub haunt for a nightcap.
Still having fun but missing you all.
Prost! (cheers)

I'm in Luneburg!

Today is day 3 in Luneburg. It is truly amazing. Unlike Berlin which was mostly destroyed in WWII, Luneburg was untouched so all the buildings are original from as far back as 1300's. It looks like something out of a movie set. There was a car show the first day I was here so that was perfect for me. Today and yesterday was a children's festival near the town square which was fun to walk through. I felt bad for the parents as the kids were all hyped up on sugar and going nuts. Just outside of that was a group of firefighters who were nice enough to let me take their picture. Thank god for Jim my roommate who speaks wonderful German and is kind enough to hang out with me. The food and beer have been great (a little pricey) and we of course already have several favorites including an Irish pub that is right on the water. 

School starts on Tuesday so that will be interesting. I really need to learn this damn language!

Miss you all but I am having a great time :)

I made it!

Hallo! So, I made it to Germany....but my luggage didn't. The flight was horrible (I'm not coming back). I barely fit in the seat and just when I fell asleep, the guy in front of me leaned back so far that my knee got crushed and I was in pain for the rest of the flight. Food was....as you would expect but the wine was free so that was nice. We landed in Amsterdam and I had 20 min to run and catch my next flight. I had no clue I would need to go through customs and another security check point there so I just made it. After a short hour flight we arrived in Berlin but I guess my luggage decided to stay in Amsterdam. Trying to deal with the lost and found was super fun. The woman was not happy I didn't speak German and when I repeated what she said I needed to do just to clarify, she told me she would not repeat it....such a lovely lady she was. I figured out how to find where the USAC group was meeting and after 2 hours was with people that could help me navigate the customs baggage claim area where my luggage was to arrive on the next flight....of course the nice man that helped us said it wasn't there yet and to come back in an hour but he was going on break. When we went back, no one was there and the phone you were to use just rang and rang. After 1/2 hour someone finally came to help the 5 other irritated passengers in the same boat...but my bag was still missing. So off to the hostel with no luggage I went. That was actually a blessing since it was a train ride, then a bus ride, then stairs and walking just to get there and my bag weighed 48lbs so that wouldn't have been fun. I did have an extra shirt and jeans in my backpack so that was good since my luggage didn't come until the end of day 2! I wish I would have taken a picture of the closet that was my room in Berlin because you all would be shocked. It was ok until my bag came and then crowded was an understatement. Berlin was great. Lots to see and do. I should have brought a pedometer...the walking was insane. My legs are still in shock.

1 day to go

Holy SB! Packed house & with help from my fabulous friends, I'm all moved into storage.
Jonelle's boys were the last to enjoy my pool....we are all sad about that.
Spent the night with friends (thx Matt & Steph) & headed to parents if i can stay awake for the drive. I might be too old for all this!

5 days & counting

To do list seems to be growing. Found a place to live for when I return & thanx to my amazing friends...all should be moved into storage this week.  Still need to pack for trip while showing my house to potential buyers ...which is fun. Holly & Steve helped pack some of my never ending crap last nite. Holly even got some custom tattoos from Steve as a souvenir.  Drank wine for dinner & passed out!

6 days and counting

So, 6 days before I’m off to the adventure of a lifetime (or at least of my lifetime).
Am I ready…no. Am I excited…kinda. Am I scared shitless…pretty much.
I think I would be more excited and ready if I didn’t have to also move in the next 5 days into a storage unit, find and secure a place to live for when I get back, pack for my trip, pack the house, try not to feel guilty about sending the cat to a shelter, re-show my house to a bunch of strangers, work 10 hr days…and a few other minor things. But God doesn’t give you more than you can handle…and I think he is judging that by height in my case…cuz it feels like a lotta stuff for one person.