Happy Now-vember!

I never thought I would love Germany as much as I do! I’m constantly in awe of the beauty that surrounds me daily. I adore the fact that there is a forest in my backyard and I continuously get lost and swept up in the beauty of it! I feel as if all of Deutschland is at my fingertips. Everything I need is just a bike, train or bus ride away. It’s pretty amazing!

When I came to Germany, I knew I also wanted to get as much traveling in as possible during my short stay here. One of my Colorado friends, Andrew lives and works in Garmisch Partenkirchen which is about a 3 hour drive from where I live in Stuttgart. He knew of my ambitions and was nice enough to invite me on a trip that he planned with one of his co-workers, Ben. Originally, the destination was going to be Mallorca which is a little island off of Spain but last minute it turned into a Norwegian adventure!

What did I find in Norway, you ask? SO much more than I ever expected! Not only did I meet and get to hang out with my new bestest buddy, Ben but I also saw so many things that were worth marveling at. Oslo, Norway is located on a stunning harbor and is known as the city that hosts the Noble Peace Prize. The city itself was very clean, had a safe feel and reminded me of Paris mixed with a bay area.

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In Norway, the currency really through me off guard though. For every 1 dollar in the US, it was worth 5.73 kroner. Things were pretty pricey around the area but it was just strange seeing a banana that cost 20 kroner or a meal that was 99 kroner.

Ben and I decided to buy an Oslo pass for the day that gave us entrance into a ton of museums as well access to all the public transportation. We were glad we did this because the weather was really foggy, rainy and somewhat cold. Museum highlights: The Noble Peace Prize museum where we learned all about this notable award as well as the prestigious winners, getting to see “The Scream” by Munch, The Modern Art Museum that was filled with interactive exhibits as well as sci-fi collector’s items section and a whole floor with expressions of the feminist movement. We ended the day at Vigeland Park which was so neat. It was filled with hundreds of human sculptures that you could climb all over and take some really fun and silly pictures. That was probably the highlight of the trip for me

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I arrived back from Norway to Germany just in time for Leila’s school autumn festival. Halloween is not really celebrated in Germany but the school puts on a fall party for the kids and adults. Pumpkin soup, baked goods as well as drinks are sold and served. They have a pumpkin carving contest… well it was more of a pumpkin decorating contest. And these parents and kids REALLY go all out with berries and leaves, and twigs (pic below). On Halloween Leila begged me to take her on a “Halloween walk” but instead we just ended up carving some fun pumpkins, ate chili bean soup and watched a ghost movie.

This whole past week Leila and Alex were on holiday. Big shocker there :P. They just started school about a month ago and already have a week of break. We spent a lot of time bike riding around the town, in the forests, to the TV Tower and we even stumbled upon a little pasture filled with cute little sheep. One day we took the bus into Neuhausen and visited Leila’s old Kindergarten where the kinders had way too much fun attacking Alex and I!

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I have been helping Leila with her math and she is finally grasping the concept of zero plus another number is always the other number. She is going to be the smartest in her class since they haven’t even started addition! English wise she is becoming so good! Although, she always says, “Can I look TV” and is finally remembering that we use the word watch TV. She also likes to add not on the end of sentences which is kind of funny like “I like that not” because that is the direct translation.

My Aunt Victoria is really good at making sure I am getting an authentic German experience. This weekend we went to a beautiful Castle called Burg Hohenzollern. When we went on the tour, we had to wear slippers over our shoes and slid around the inside which was a ton of fun! She has showed me around Esslingen (which is a beautiful older town) and Neuhausen (where she used to live). Cafés are all around and I have been able to try an Eis (ice cream) café, a wine and cheese café and my favorite was one that served a variety of desserts. I had a chocolate torte and it was really like a little piece of heaven. Probably a sin to taste that good (picture below). Yesterday, Stuttgart was having a street festival where I got to try my first Glühwein which is heated wine with water, sugar and spices!

I recently started a job as a conversation partner with a mother (Sylvia) and her daughter (Katarina). I love talking to people and listening so it’s perfect! I met with the mother once last week and the daughter twice. We spend a couple of hours just talking in English, discussing the differences in culture as well as interest, politics and life. Katarina is 16 and is in year 10. She really loves American music, movies and shows. She thinks it’s cool that in American when someone wins a show like “American Idol,” they actually become a star unlike in Germany where they might be popular with a one hit wonder and then you will never hear of them. Katarina goes to a private school and gets to travel lots. She is hoping to study in Canada next semester so she can practice her English and French. She also makes me laugh because when I asked her what she wants to do with her life, she said she is uncertain but at one point she hopes to marry a black man so she could have chocolate babies. :) Sylvia has been a stay at home mom for the past 20 years. She has a part time job as a physical therapist and a cute bunny named Freddie. I have taught Sylvia her new favorite word which is grocery shopping. She just loves saying that word and it makes me smile that using this word gives her so much joy. It’s been fun getting to know them so far and I look forward to our future interactions!

Some random observations:

*In Germany, Dora does not teach Spanish. QUE!

*Hamburger buns have to be sliced opened. They don’t come pre-cut.

*If I wanted to make chocolate chip cookies- I would have to slice my own chocolate chunks because chocolate chips are not sold. Talk about a lot of work. By the time I was done chopping, I wouldn’t have any energy to make the cookies.

*Movies from America have different titles. Remember the really popular 90’s movie called “Bring It on?” In Germany it’s called “Girls United”, “The Pacifier” is called “Babynator” and “Hitch” is titled “The Date Doctor” lol

*Germans are follow the rule kind of people. When there is a stop sign, it really means to stop. Go figure.

*Tea light candles are a must at ever table in a restaurant and at home.

*Recycling is a BIG part of life here. All water, wine, pop bottles are taxed but if you take them back to the grocery store, you get the taxed money back. Picture below of what it looks like.

Thanks for reading! I hope you are doing fabulous. Let me know what you have been up to! I miss you all and appreciate all the skype calls, emails and fb messages! It's so nice to be connected! Hope to hear from YOU soon!

All my love.

-L

PS...Clarissa-I put in a ton of photo's just for you! :)