Silvester!

Happy New Year everyone!

Today Fran and Agnes (a friend of Fran's from Munich) and I did some shopping in Düsseldorf. I found the most perfect coat for England, and now I am indeed Little Red Riding Hood in every way but the riding part seeing that I don't have a bike. But anyway, it is a wonderful coat and I can't wait to wear it this semester. I got a few souvenirs at a local shop in town, but not too many. I mostly kept to postcards because not many of you are too connected to Düsseldorf anyhow. I was hoping to find myself a German flag, but I didn't have any luck with that, so I will have to get that online or something.


Me, my new coat, and the space needle type thing in Düsseldorf

I will be going out for the evening soon, and I'm getting ready right now, so I hope you all have a wonderful and safe New Year!

A Day Off

I was supposed to go to Mass this morning, however, I didn't sleep well at all and was feeling quite exhausted from my extensive travels this past week, so I slept all morning. I've been taking it easy today so that I won't be sick for tomorrow since it will be New Year's Eve. Fran and I are doing some shopping, and then we will prepare for the big party in the evening. I will try to tell you all about the way that New Year's is celebrated in Europe, but Fran has informed me that most years it is difficult to remember all of the exciting happenings.


Last night before I couldn't sleep.

Amsterdam

Today we left early to go to Amsterdam, which meant leaving at 8:15am or so. I didn't sleep in the car on the way there, but I did sleep most of the way back. We went on a boat ride through the canals of the city, and that was really quite cool. The houses are all very narrow but extremely tall. It really is a beautiful place. I expected to smell marijuana everywhere I went, but it really wasn't around as much as I thought it would be. I did know when people around me were smoking it, and there were leaves on a lot of the coffee shop signs, so that was definitely an interesting cultural aspect. We started our visit by going through the Anne Frank House Museum, and it was an incredible experience for me. I had forgotten that they had gone into hiding in Amsterdam, and I'm so glad that I was able to go through the place that kept her safe for a short time. It was erie walking through the same rooms that I know experienced so much fear and sadness, but it was a good reminder of the importance of all life regardless of religion. Tomorrow I will experience German Mass, and in the evening we are planning to go see Elizabeth with some of Fran's friends.

Me outside The Anne Frank House
(the building to the left with the dark doors)

Düsseldorf

Well, it is fairly late here, so this will be a very short update. Last night and today Fran and I went to Düsseldorf. Last night we went to a club and a milk bar, and it was ridiculously crowded. We went with a group of Fran's friends and they were all very nice and spoke some English as well. We went to McDonald's afterwards for food because apparently that's the thing to do. Overall it was a good night.

This afternoon we went to Düsseldorf with a guy that Fran had met a few times before and a friend of his. We met more of Fran's friends for coffee once we got to the city, and there was this couple at the coffee shop that was showing PDA like nobody's business-it seems that it is not as big of a deal here, but whatever it was gross. We left the other friends and went to the art museum to see "Bonjour Russia" which was an amazing showcase of French and Russian art. I saw Renoir, Gogain, Monet, and all sorts of incredible works of art. We went to Vapiano for supper which was absolutely wonderful, and I had some terrifically delicious tiramisu for dessert. We hit a bar after dinner and I had a cocktail. We got home not too long ago, and after a short chat with my parents I've been trying to update some things online.

Here are a couple pictures of the room I am staying in this week.

The right side of the room, where I sleep and keep my bags.


The left side of the room where we had company the other night.
(My mess IS contained!)

Aachen

We went to the city of Aachen today to see the Cathedral that houses Charlemagne's bones. Whether or not his remains are actually there, I do not know, but I saw the gloriously insane shrine that says they are there. We also went to the chocolate shop next to the Lindt factory and I bought chocolate for way cheap. Papa keeps insisting that I eat lots of sweets and drink lots of alcohol. We went to a "liquor store" in Aachen near the church and I tried this wonderful apple flavored stuff that was totally yummy. I can't comprehend why Europeans are not drunk all the time.


This is the seal of Charlemagne, it was all over the streets of Aachen.

When we got home I was cold and had a runny nose so I curled up on the couch with a blanket to rest for a bit. This set off alarms across the house that I was incurable ill or something. It is sweet how much they care, but sometimes it is a bit overwhelming. I was immediately given some lemon schnapps to clear my throat, a mug of gluwein (warm spiced wine) to warm me up, some sort of medicine to stop my nose from running, and tons of gummy bears. I understand that alcohol here will cure anything and everything, but I'm not quite sure about the gummy bears. I think Papa just likes to give me sweets.

It's been a rather quite evening so far, but Fran and I are going out to a club to meet some of her friends tonight. I met two of her good friends yesterday and they were very nice, so hopefully these friends will be just as nice. Her friends all speak English, so that is a huge bonus. As much as I would like to learn German, the one semester that I took at Manchester was nowhere near what I would have needed to survive here. If it was absolutely necessary I think I would be more likely to survive using my French. Well, tomorrow we are going to go sight-seeing in Düsseldorf, so I'm hoping we don't stay at the club too long and my jetlag allows me to sleep tonight. It is getting better, but I am still exhausted randomly during the day. I am glad that I am dealing with it now and not in a week like all of the other BCA students. It will be beneficial to have the heads start even though now it is not so much fun.

Köln

Today we went to the city of Köln. I had my first real autobahn experience, and holy cow they drive fast on that thing! We saw the ginormous Catholic cathedral that was absolutely gorgeous. We also went to the Lindt Chocolate Museum, and I had hot chocolate with orange liquor which was incredibly yummy. We went to the local brewery for a lunch snack and of course some beer. Unfortunately, I am still not much of a beer drinker, so I let Mama have the rest of my glass. I definitely feel like a foreigner when I ask for water at meals. In Germany they only use water for brushing their teeth, so it's taking me some getting used to for not having at regularly at meals. Dinner tonight was fabulous as usual. Mama and Papa make sure that I have more than plenty to eat. The family has been nothing but wonderful, and I am thouroughly enjoying my time here. Saturday we are going to Amsterdam, and Fran wants to take me to the clubs and such often this week so I will be busy but hope to update as I can.


The Cathedral in Köln. It's way huge.

Delays

My flight out of Indy was supposed to leave at 2pm December 23, but I did not leave Indianapolis airport until 6:30pm. Needless to say, I missed my flight to London, so I took the 10pm flight. I somehow had just enough time to get my baggage from the baggage claim to the check in and change my tickets just in time. I had to walk quite quickly, but I managed to make it to my gate just as the flight was boarding. The plane was no where near full, so the lady that was sitting next to me moved up a row and I had the entire two seats to myself. I had flown from Indy to Chicago with a crew member from American Airlines, and he was cooking the food for this flight, so he checked in with me before take off to make sure that I made it alright. The flight to London really wasn't too bad. It was long, and I watched "Elf" as my in-flight movie before I slept for four hours. We got into London about 11:30am London time, and I was able to head to my next flight without too much of a problem. I took a bus to the correct part of the airport, made it through the security check, and arrived at the correct terminal where I only waited about half an hour before I had to take the ten minute walk to my gate for departure. I got all settled on the plane and promtly fell asleep even before we left the ground. I was running on only five hours of sleep by the time I was safely in Germany. Fran met me at the airport, and it was so incredibly great to see her! It has been truly wonderful to be spending time with her family.


The German Family: Auntie, Christof, Fran, Mama, me and Papa

Once we got to the house Papa was there to greet me and show me the room I would be staying in this week. The room isn't really a room; it's more like a suite. I have a bathroom of my own to use, a small hallway and a large room of my own. The family kept me busy all night! Firt there were appetizers and champagne followed by singing Christmas Carols, presents, and then the huge feast. There was so much food, and it was served so elegantly, I thought it would never end. I had a shower while the ladies walked took Forrest (their dog) on a walk. We played a German child's game and then I finally headed to bed. I awoke this morning a little before noon, and we had lunch around 1pm or so. It was another feast of wonderful traditional German dishes. Dessert was absolutely fabulous, and we have been chilling out since then. We watched "Love Actually" and Fran napped a bit. We are headed out to explore for a bit and then who knows what!

Until next time, I wish you all a very merry Christmas!