For Your Vicariousness

How could I forget Paris?

queenofbums — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 12:23:00 GMT

I guess I should let y'all know where I've been since Pamplona, before I start commenting on my activities... I almost forgot about Paris, then to Münich, Jeni's in Schlammersdorf, around the Czech Republic, to Krakow, Poland for a day, and now I'm in Switzerland, about to leave... that's what, 3 weeks?

Ok, so, like I said, I forgot to mention that Shane and I went to Paris after our tiring adventures during San Fermin. I wasn't even sure I was going with him till we got to Hendaye, and found there was room on the night train (for a not too bad price, too)... So it was that we woke up early in the morning in Paris. We locked our bags up at the train station, and went for a bit of compulsory sight seeing. The line for the Eiffel Tower is MUCH shorter if you get there before it opens. =) But we only went to the second level... we agreed that the top is more of a romantic spot, so better to leave it for a time with significant others.

Then we checked out the Louvre... apparently my hour wandering around the Denon wing (and I still missed the Venus De Milo, bah) was long enough for Shane to check out the Musee D'Orsay and what he wanted to see in the Louvre with time to spare. Look out for the speed tourist!

After that, we looked in on Notre Dame and the Pantheon (the very LARGE church dedicated to St. Geneviéve... no more than I deserve, of course ;) ) before trekking back to the train station to retrieve our bags. From there, the plan was to go to the hotel Shane had booked... sounds easy enough, except that not only was it not where he thought it was, it wasn't even on any map of Paris that we ever got our hands on. Needless to say, that took hours, and a lot of wandering around with big bags on our backs... Shane finally understood why I argued that being able to roll your bag can be nice sometimes. But we did find it, and he was able to get a double room, so I got a nice lovely bed of my own! (You would understand the excitement, after 4 nights of bus, bench, ground, pillows on the floor, and then finally a decent night on the bunk in the train)

After much sleeping (and wishing that we were NOT in France), we ventured out the next day to Versailles. I was feeling cheap, so did not go in, but Shannon had a pass... and, again, managed to go through the entire thing in about 15 minutes... and still notice stuff. Crazy. Apparently I'm artsy because I take longer than him in a museum... I don't even care for most art! Lol.

Upon our return to Paris, we parted ways, so he could check out the Champs Elysee and the Arc de Triomph (which I had to laugh about... the French, with an Arc... and it's due to a Corsican! Lol), and so I could buy my ticket out to Münich the next day.

Well, more on that Münich later... looks like my internet time is up. Oh, and I will be home on the 20th of August, for those I have not informed... yay, Texas!

Ole, ole ole ole!

queenofbums — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 16:33:00 GMT

Ok! This is the one you have all been waiting for! And sadly, it will not be as good a rendition as the one I wrote out the day of, all hopped up on adrenaline and all. Poo. Oh, well, you should have been there.

Ok, so after my two nights barely sleeping on buses and a park bench, Shane let me take a nap on his bed in the hostel (it is much to busy during San Fermin for me to actually book one of my own) while he went to the opening ceremonies. Apparently it is a CRAZY crush of people... ok, maybe is should be CRUSH, as in literally, because he says you could not move unless the crowd willed it, and then, only in the direction that it was going... people were being carried out over head who were unconscious and/or bleeding. And they were spraying champagne and sangria all over each other. Great times! Sad I missed it, but maybe next year. ;)

Not that the party stopped then. Oh, no! It continues throughout the week, 24/7, no joke. Shane came back to get me after the opening ceremonies, and we walked the Encierro (path the bulls run), so that he would know what he was dealing with the next day, and then partook in some of the festivities. Which involves a lot of sangria, and running around shouting "Ole, ole ole ole!" and "San Fermin, San Fermin!". I of course, did not partake in either.

Yeah, right! Well, that ended me up not sleeping on the floor of Shane´s hostel, but instead on the ground in the park with some New Yorkers Shane and I met. Shane actually made it back to the hostel, though, which was good, because he was running the next day. Not that he got much sleep, since he had to get up around 6AM for the Run.

I did not make it too the sidelines for that... I watched from the screens in the square, but I did not know if Shane had actually run until our (luckily appointed before partaking in the festivities) meeting after he got out of the Plaza del Toros. Then we stumbled back to our hostel to attempt to sleep.

Ok, let me explain the Running of the Bulls, for those of you not in the know. The Encierro is lined on both sides either by buildings or two rows of fences (so the spectators are not gored by passing bulls, I assume). The first one is on the seventh day of the seventh month, and does NOT start at 7AM, contrary to popular belief (although you should be on the course by then), and the run starts at 8AM... not on the dot, though, these are the Spanish we´re talking about. They shoot off a rocket, and open the door to let out some large bulls that have been kept away from people (in other words, NOT tame), with some very not nice looking horns. From there, they run 840 meters (a little over half a mile) through the town to the Plaza de Toros, where they are rounded up and taken away. Then it play time for all those who made it into the Plaza (you have to be ahead of the last bull... no one can run the whole encierro, so you usually start atleast half-way through in order to get here).

This play time involves about 5-8 smaller young bulls, with their horns capped, being let out one at a time to run rampant among the crowd of runners who are ballsy enough NOT to jump over the wall. Though, apparently, on the first day, one of the bulls made it over the wall. Lol. These bulls are not nearly as scary, but still enough to make run away. When each bull is tired out, then the let out a HUGE, but tame bull, and bring them both back in.

Ok, now, most of you already know this, actually, probably everyone, because I get excited an can´t keep things to myself, but I know that last paragraph from a first hand basis, because I RAN WITH THE BULLS. Ok, not with. Away from. And really far ahead. I´m not THAT stupid, guys, come one.

After talking to Shane the first day, it became apparent that if I started far enough ahead, I would be in no danger (from the bulls, atleast... the frightened crowd was something to be wary of as well)... so, the second day, we got up early, dressed in our red and white, and made our to the Encierro. I stayed with Shane until the first rocket went off, then I took off jogging, slowly working up to a dead run, knowing that the bulls were no where near, but kept feeling like they were, because of the electric fright of the crowd. Shane stayed behind to actually get close to the bulls, and run with them.

When I made it in the the Plaza, there were already a couple hundred people, mostly behind the wall... what a bunch of whimps! As planned, I went left and clambered over the wall, so that Shane could find me once he made it in. Then I puked... too much running and adrenaline and fright! I stayed behind there until after the first few bulls, the adrenaline got the best of me, and I went over, but still clung to it, while watching Shane play. I wanted to play, too, but I went out into the ring in between bulls one time, and as soon as they let another one out, I was against that wall before I knew what I was doing. Yay for instinct!

So... I am totally going next year! That adrenaline rush is addictive! I now want to do all sorts of crazy things, like maybe sky diving and bungee jumping. Woo!

Ok, I´m tired of writing now. And I have to pay for interney access here.

Next updates: Munich (beer!) and the Czech Republic (gorgeous!)

Brotherly Love

queenofbums — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 15:50:00 GMT

Ok, ok, y´all have twisted my arm... and I have nearly 3 hours before my bus to Olomouc(sounds like "puce"... I think).

Where was I? Oh, yes, Northern Ireland. Ok, well, I flew from Belfast to Amsterdam to meet up with my brother, Shane. I can´t tell you how excited I was about that!

Anyway, he caught me on the way to my hostel, and once I got checked-in, we hit the town. We took a bicycle cab to the apparently famous club Melkweg (not that anyone I know has heard of it, but whatever), where we met a young British couple we hung out with for the rest of the night. Ahh, quality time with my brother. =p

The next day we stumbled out of our beds to go check out the museums around town (Rijiksmuseum, Van Gogh), then went back for a siesta. Later in the evening we went to Anne Frank´s House... very interesting. That night was an early night for us... and we would need that.

The next morning we went out for pancakes... well, really just one enormous pankcake each, both with bananas (mine with chocolate sauce). Yum! Afterwards we went our separate ways, Shane to fly to Spain, and me to work my way there by bus.

I took the overnight bus from there to Bordeaux, and spent an exciting day doing laundry (cant be stinky ALL the time =p ) and wandering around a bit, then caught another night bus to Pamplona.

Where I arrived at 3am, and much to my consternation, not at the bus station (apparently Eurolines has a small phobia of them... not always, but enough to make it a pain). So instead of meeting up with Shane again (who was actually waiting for me at the bus station), I ended up taking a nap on a park bench, until it got to cold (even with my sheet and poncho) at 6am, and decided to wander around and (unsuccessfully) search for Shane´s hostel. Luckily he had planned to meet me again at the bus station, that I had found in my wanderings, at 10.

The goings on of Pamplona are so extensive, I think I shall write this in their own separate entry.

Gallery: Spain

queenofbums — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 07:48:00 GMT

Gallery: Malta

queenofbums — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 23:44:00 GMT

Green (and Gray) Isle

queenofbums — Tue, 8 Jul 2008 11:09:00 GMT

I'm having tons of fun over here, but I miss Texas. Mostly for everything Tex-Mex. Queso, enchiladas, Mexican Martinis, REAL salsa... oh, man, what I wouldn't give for some Antonio's or Trudy's or Chuy's or even Arandas right now...

Anyway, back to the topic at hand... I traveled a bit around Ireland for a week... Stayed in a small converted castle (mostly a tower) outside of Kilkenny (Faulksrath Castle), went to Cork to go to Blarney and of COURSE I kissed the Blarney Stone (probably gross, but hey, ya do what you gotta do). Apparently I am supposed to have the "gift of gab" now. Heh. Then I went up through Limerick to Sixmilebridge (which is funny to me since they use kilometers), and went to a pub with a couple of Aussie girls and then realized it was like 1 am, and when we asked what time the pub closed, and they said "oh, this is a lock-in" (which means they're closed, and if you leave, you're not getting back in)... it was great hanging out with all the locals.

The next day the Aussie girls drove me to Shannon, so I could take a picture, but since there was NOTHING there, we kept going to Galway, and they dropped me off... I was going to head on from there, but stayed the night instead. Then I went to Bundoran, which is an absolutely gorgeous surfing town... I can't believe people were actually out in the water, I was all bundled up from the cold.

After that, I went with another travel buddy up to Ballycastle up in Northern Ireland, and visited the Giants Causeway. Again, I can not stress how picturesque the coast is... I mean, there are green farms backing up to the shore.

Bugger... I wrote a lot more, but the stupid thing timed out. All I can tell you is that if you read this part, come back in a few days, because the last few days I have been LIVING!

I don't speak French

queenofbums — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 18:00:00 GMT

Goodness, I didn't even realize I'd left it so long this time!

Don't know if I mentioned, but after I got back from Malta, I spent a few days in Valencia again, checking out the beach and what not, and then I went on to Barcelona to meet Laura's friend Saioa. To say we got along is an understatement... I'm loving all the new friends I'm making over here!

Anyway, Saioa showed me around parts of Barcelona, like Gotic and Las Ramblas and the beach, and introduced me to the works of Gaudi (a Spanish architect). His work is absolutely amazing! If you are ever there, you have to check out La Sagrada Familia... it's a catherdral they started building in the late 1800s and it's still not done... it's enormous, and they haven't even built the tallest spire yet! If it wasn't for all the sorority girls/frat boys from the states whining in the hostels, I think Barcelona would be one of my favourite cities so far.

After Barcelona, I hoped on a train, and worked my way up to Roscoff, France, spending one night on a train, and the next in Nantes. From Roscoff I took an overnight ferry to Rosslare, Ireland, and then hitched a ride with a couple of French guys (one a hitchhiker, and the driver doing some sort of work here) to Dublin, where I'm spending a couple of days.

Went to a suburb Howth yesterday for fish and chips (fries, for those of you not aware), and to walk along the waterfront. It was so WINDY, you could lean into it. But the view of the wind whipping over the water and the green little islands just off the shore was worth it.

The weather the past week has not been so sunny, coming up through France, and now in Ireland... to the point where I think I'm already thinking like a local, and like, "LOOK, it's the SUN!!!" Lol. I don't mind though, I can stand a few days of cloud and rain... though the chilling winds (that are reminding me of Texas in the late fall), I could really do without.

Don't know where all I'm going to get to go in Ireland, but hopefully some castles (no, I'm not sick of them yet). =)

Malta

queenofbums — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 17:34:00 GMT

I´ve been neglecting you, I know... but I did say that I would try to keep up with this, not that I would. =)

OK. I have to admit, I was very dissapointed with Malta, at first. Kind of dingy, everything is beige (seriously, even white buildings were looking good), and, as usual, it took me a few days to find people to befriend. It´s also very cheap (with good reason), but it was definitely a plus for me. It is an itty-bitty island south of Italy (look it up, lazy people), and the native(?) language is Maltese (a mix of Arabic and Italian), although everyone speaks English, and I imagine Italian is not uncommon, either. OK, now to try and update you on the past, what, 2 weeks?

Even though it´s an island (and a small one at that) there are not many beaches. Well, not if you´re looking for sand. There was only the tiniest one in Bugibba (where I was staying)... about 30 yards across and maybe 12 deep. But I did manage to find a few to relax on and work on my tan. And there are several beautiful coves with the prettiest blue water. Incluiding the Blue Lagoon on the isle of Comino. Unfortunately, I forgot to put the battery back in the camera, so the only way y´all will get to see it is if you either go there or look it up on-line. Obviously, I recommend the former.

On Wednesday I went with Ruth to Popeyes Village, aka Sweethaven, the film set that was built in 1978 just for the movie staring Robin Williams. It´s small and mostly directed towards children, so we had great fun. =p We were even coaxed into making a little Popeye movie... lol. I hope I can get it online to embarrass myself... and Ruth. =p

Saturday I went with Kit on a scenic boat ride to the afore mentioned Comino and it´s Blue Lagoon (which you can only access by boat, as Comino is not really populated). I love nothing more than being out on the water, especially with such a gorgeous destination. It was a bit busy, and I can´t even imagine what it´s like in the high season.

Sunday I went on a solo day-trip to the isle of Gozo. Okay, more like a half day (not like I sleep in till noon, but I´d rather not get up before 9). It was pleasant. I walked half-way across the island (about an hour each way) from the city in the center (Victoria) to the western coast where the Inland Sea, Azure Window, and Fungus Rock are. Watching wave crash against the rocky shores is quite breathtaking.

Monday was probably the best day (and sadly my last full one) on Malta. Kit rented a car, and she, Ruth, and I drove around the island to the see the Blue Grotto (not nearly so impressive after Comino and Gozo, but still awesome), to see the Hagar Qim temple (one of the oldest standing buildings, from between 3600-3200 BC), and to spend several hours relaxing on the beach of Pretty Bay (which was great b/c it´s not as comercialized as most of them). Then we went to the fishing village of Marsaxlokk (yes, that is spelled correctly, and no, I do not know how to pronounce it) and wandered along the pier.

Malta (and even touristy little Bugibba) ended up growing on me, even to the point where I would even recommend going there, if you are happen to be in Europe and what a cheap place to relax. Kit and Ruth took me to the airport on Tuesday, and now I´m back in Valencia, and going to Barcelona on Friday. I can´t be sure if I remembered to tell y´all everything, so feel free to ask questions (always). =)

Ciao!

MONKEYS!!!

queenofbums — Fri, 30 May 2008 18:13:00 GMT

Gibraltar was awesome. Mostly due to the fact that I temporarily made friends with a couple young monkeys (aka, they thought I had food to steal, then realized I didn't, so left me). Ok, technically they are apes... Barbary Apes to be exact. They're mostly kinda cute. Can't wait to show y'all the pictures!

Anyway, the views were pretty cool, too. I walked ALL over that rock, and I have to say, I'm still a tiny bit sore (even two days later). I went around and up and down and around and up and down and back and forth and it was craziness. =D But it was all worth it... especially with the apes!

I'm in Valencia, Spain, today. Kinda made some friends last night, probably will hang out with them tonight, then flying to Malta tomorrow! For ten whole days! It should be good. Apparently it was a British colony or something for a while, so English is pretty common (yay!). I didn't know anything about it when I booked the trip, but the more I read, the happier I am that I chose to go there. And it should be warm (if you hadn't noticed, I kind of like that =p ). Yay, random trips to small islands in the Mediterranen!

I Saw Africa Today

queenofbums — Mon, 26 May 2008 19:48:00 GMT

I can actually stand up and see it from the window right now... craziness. It's not that far away... maybe a mile or two?

I just arrived in Tarifa (still in Spain), the wind-surfing capital of the world (so I'm told). Seems great so far (not that I've done anything other than find and check into the hostel). I think I'm going to take a day trip in the next few days to Gibraltar.

Anyway, I left Malaga last Tuesday and went to Granada... The Alhambra was nice, but other than that, I did not want to be there. So, when it came time to leave on Friday, and I was trying to figure out where I was going, I decided to push my spirits back up in Malaga. Which worked out wonderfully, because I made another new friend there, Alicia, and Aussie girl that's been living in Scotland for the past year and is now an au pair in Germany. The right hostels are so awesome for meeting people... La Casa Mata in Malaga, Spain, is one of the right ones.

I know what y'all really want to see are some pictures, but it might be a while before I can actually get some onto a computer, so just hold your horses. =p

Still not sure what I'm doing more than a day or two ahead (if that), unless someone is coming over. Which, it turns out, there are a few people who will be in Europe sometime this summer, and I'm going to try my hardest to see them.

I'll let y'all know if anything of real interest happens.

Hasta luego!

English is harder than we think...

queenofbums — Sun, 18 May 2008 18:30:00 GMT

I thought I was going to go to Lithuania to meet up with another traveler... but, the weather decided to turn a little cooler, so I decided to head as far south as possible, to the warmest corner of Europe I could find.

So, here I am in Malaga, Spain, on the Mediterranean coast. How do I always forget how much I love the sea? I could sit on the shore alllll day long and watch the waves. *sigh*

This morning I met a girl from my room, Jannet, and she's been here a few days, so we walked along the beach and explored an old Arab castle... beautiful. It's great, b/c she's from Mexico City, so she speaks Spanish. And she's tested my english skills by asking me questions about it. =p No wonder you have to take a TOEFL course to teach english... I have considered doing that... still might.

Just wanted to let y'all know where I ended up (after a full day of travel yesterday - train and bus to Frankfurt Hahn Airport, flew to Madrid, then train to Malaga... left Jeni's around 9:30am, didn't get here till 11:30pm - good way to waste a day).

Hope y'all are jealous now... because you should be. =D

Couchsurfing and a Tour of Berlin

queenofbums — Mon, 12 May 2008 21:39:00 GMT

Ok, it's been a few days since I've had much access to a computer, and a few things to update on.

I found a place to stay, with a girl named Florence and her Brazilian boyfriend Daniel. She was really great. They were having an impromptu BBQ in the park (one of MANY going on in Basel), and so I got to meet a few of her friends and what not. It's really funny, b/c Europeans get so excited about summer, and the weather just got really nice the last few weeks (awesome for me). Apparently they have lots of "bbqs" all summer, mostly in the parks. And, I found out what the odd game I saw with the silver balls is called... Boules (or Bowls)... it's a French game, apparently... actually, I've played games like it online, so it's not that weird, but I've never seen anyone playing it.

Flo and Daniel also made breakfast before I headed back to the hostel to pack my stuff for Berlin. Which was another adventure in itself... I decided to take a small scenic detour on the way back (maybe take an hour at most)... well, it ended up being a loongs "scenic detour" =p Took me about 3 hours. After that, and forcing myself back out to find the Tinguely fountain and finally take pictures of the Rathaus, I was pretty tired. Which was great, b/c I passed out on the night train to Berlin.

Anyway, so now I'm in Berlin, got here yesterday morning, having no idea what I even want to see here. I'm honestly not all that interested in anything related to Nazi's and the Holocaust... I learned about all that stuff in German class, it's depressing, and I'm done. I did see parts of the wall again (I saw it and Checkpoint Charlie 5 years ago when I spent a day in Berlin from a cruise in the Baltic Sea), on an impromptu tour given to me by a German-Russian ex-employee of the hostel I was staying @ (he was in town visiting, and was planning on going around taking pictures of things anyway). It was great to have someone who mostly new Berlin and what to see. I don't even remember what all I saw, so you'll have to wait for me to update pictures. There was also some sort of weird parade... the Carnival of Cultures... so, that was cool.

I think I'm going to visit Potsdam tomorrow... Something about the City of Palaces, so it should be pretty.

Not certain where I'm heading next weekend (after I go back to Jeni's), but it could be towards Poland... or Spain... or Italy... or Scotland... or, yeah, I have no idea. =D

Ha ha... whoops...

queenofbums — Fri, 9 May 2008 13:34:00 GMT

So... I should have tried to book my train ticket earlier... I'm sure I could get out of here today, but I know have a train ticket leaving from Basel tomorrow (Saturday) night.

So, now I'm desperately trying to find a place to stay the night.

The hostel I'm in is booked, as are most of the others... i think there's on i can try, but I'll have to go there, and it doesn't open for another half hour.

I'm also looking for people on couchsurfing.com Very cool website, and it would be awesome if it worked out for me.

Heh... well, if all else fails, i could try and sleep on the couch downstairs here... hmmm... bad idea, i'll leave that as an uber last resort.

I'm still laughing at myself, but if I don't find somewhere by, oh, 6pm, I probably won't be any more. =)

*edit* I've had some responses off of couchsurfing.com, so, I'll let y'all know how that goes. On with the adventures!!

I love Basel

queenofbums — Thu, 8 May 2008 18:43:00 GMT

I guess I should update... I would rather with pictures, but I can't get them on-line just yet.

Basel is wonderful. But it's more a place to live, than to visit. I'm not really into going to a whole lot of museums (or paying for them)... and I don't want to do too many too early in the trip, either, so there's not a whole lot to do (tho, I might hit up a few of the free ones tomorrow... yay, budget travel!). But it's just a pleasant city to walk around. And the public transportation is super-fantastic... especially since it's free when you stay at any hotel in Basel (i think).

I don't know how to explain it, but there is a reason that people don't move out of Switzerland. Why would you? I wouldn't mind living here for a little while (meaning year or less..,). It's also great, b/c it's right in the middle of Europe, so it's all accessible!

It's also a very casual city... people are walking everywhere, jumping on the trams and buses, and just hanging out on the "shore" of the Rhein. It doesn't hurt that the weather has been absolutely perfect as well.

I went to the Tinguely Museum the other day. It's very... different. Sort of interactive. I took some pictures and videos, so hopefully y'all will sory of understand. http://www.tinguely.ch/en/index.html

I'm liking the hostel, here... it's very clean and modern, and the free internet is awesome, especialy since I'm on it when no one else wants to use it so i can sit here for a while and try to figure out where I'm going next.

Speaking of which, I'm not certain, but I think I'm heading to Berlin tomorrow night (to get there Saturday morning). One good way of getting out of paying for lodging for a night... woot!

Anyway, I've mostly been walking around (and being a bit lonely, but that comes with the lifestyle, so I'll get over it), and trying to pretend that I'm not a tourist. LOL.

I'll probably won't update again till I get back to Jeni's next week... might have to pay for internets in future hostels (yuck).

Change of Plans

queenofbums — Mon, 5 May 2008 07:16:00 GMT

This will happen often, I'm sure.

I, alas, am not going to Paris this week with Jeni. We did not reserve the train far enough in advance.

Instead, I am going to Basel, Switzerland, by myself for a few days (leaving tomorrow). Eeep!

First real step out of the nest. I'll be fine. Have my train schedules and a reservation @ the YMCA hostel in Basel.

The dollar seems to be much better against the Swiss Franc, but I don't know that anything will be cheaper there... we can only hope.

I will still be coming back to Jeni's next week to pick up some mail, and then I'll be off again! May be flying to Spain (but I wouldn't take my word for it) =p

Schnitzel

queenofbums — Sat, 3 May 2008 01:02:00 GMT

Went out for Schnitzel und Pommes Fritz this evening. First real German meal. It was good. The thing was huge, the size of the plate (nearly a square foot, i think... at least 9 inches)... 2 or 3 times as large as a regular chicken fried steak. I ate like half of it (b/c, yes, I like food).

Aaaaah... relaxation... ;)

queenofbums — Fri, 2 May 2008 17:47:00 GMT

Ok, I'm not going to lie, I've done a whole lot of nothing the last 2 days. But, I have 5 months here, and I've been super stressed the past few weeks about this trip, and it's nice to sit calmly for a bit.

I think Jeni and Mike are going to take me to Grafenwoehr this weekend, and maybe somewhere else. They're moving there next month, and I'll be back here to help... apparently it will be much nicer for them to live there. Also, Jeni and I are planning our trip to France, which will probably mostly be Paris. Going to see the Louvre, Versailles, the Eiffel Tower, the Musee d'Orsay, and many others... I will be reporting on those next weekend, if all goes right.

We are also hoping for Jeni's dog, Lady, to get here next weekend, which is very exciting to us, tho maybe not for y'all. It is hard for a girl and her dog to be parted for so long... nearly 3 months!

I swear I will have something interesting to talk about soon!

Deutschland

queenofbums — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 18:43:00 GMT

Arrived in Germany today. It was weird, seeing it from the airplane... all the buildings are grouped together in groups of about 20-150 buildings, with farmland in between. Not really sure I understand it, but I kind of like it. And the yards are so pretty. A lot of Jeni's neighbors have tulips and daffodils.

I had a bit of trouble getting to Euerbach from Frankfurt, but it was mostly that I was tired, and I have a hard time asking strangers for help. The one time someone randomly tried to help me, it didn't work out... he didn't speak english, and my german isn't good enough to ask what I needed to know, which was how to get on to the train in front of us. The doors were closed, so I went and stood in front of one and stared at it for a bit until I remembered the last time I was in Germany (for all of a day), on the subway, you have to press this button next to the door to open it. And, lo and behold!, there it was! "Bitte Drucken" (Please Push)

Anyway, I'm Jeni's now, and she making us dinner... which I'm actually hungry for... eating and sleeping have been scarce lately.