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.