Harry and Me

When I was eight years old I found a book in my mom's hope chest. One of her students (she is an elementary school teacher) had lent it to her so she could read it. But my mom doesn't really enjoy "fantasy" books (and movies) so she set the book aside and forgot about it. In fact, she thought she lost it, and had to buy her student a new book. Well, I found it a couple months later and my mom said I could keep it. That very day I began to read it, and gobbled it up within a matter of days. And suddenly, Harry Potter became apart of my life.

I grew up during the time when the Harry Potter books were being published. Being eight (1999) when I started reading, I was able to read the first three and then I only had to wait for the other four. Of course this waiting took most of my childhood since the last Harry Potter book came out when I was in the tail end of high school. I also had the pleasure of getting to see all the movies in theaters. I guess you could say I grew up with Harry Potter.

I have read and re-read all the books over and over again. Each time I discover something I didn't see before. There is just something about these books that never gets old. I re-read other books, but not as frequently as the Harry Potter series. I usually end up pulling out the series if I need some comfort or escape from every day life. Books are a means of escape for me, which can be good and bad like most things. But usually I read to remind myself that it is all going to be okay. No matter what goes on in a book, life always moves on; things change and grow. Harry goes through so much shit. But he isn't sitting in a corner crying the whole entire series. Sure he has his moments, like everyone does, but he always picks himself up and keeps going. And in the end, through all the pain and sadness, there is a happy ending for him. Harry always reminds me to keep going. He gives me hope.

Right now I am re-reading the series again (Christiane has all the books in English, yay!). I grabbed them all off of Martha's bookshelves and put them in my room. Over the past week I made my way through The Chamber of Secrets. I just started on Prisoner of Azkaban last night. Why am I reading them right now? Well, if I am completely honest with myself, I am feeling a little home sick. I miss my life. Halloween being tomorrow is totally not helping in the slightest. I feel so very far away from everything I know, love, and feel comfortable around. Not that this makes me regret my decision to come here in the slightest. I know this is where I need to be. And really do love it here. But not having a firm grasp on German has really made it hard for me. So once again I find myself turning to my Harry Potter books. It's really amazing how much better I feel after reading a chapter or two. The sense of panic in my stomach leaves and I am able to truly enjoy being right where I am. Of course it doesn't take away the home sickness, but it lessens it.

Me and three of the seven books (these are the UK editions)

Sometimes I wish I was eleven again, and that I was hopping onto the Hogwarts Express. But then I remind myself that living in a world of witches and wizards wouldn't solve all my problems. As much as my life isn't a cake walk, I have been blessed with so many wonderful people and opportunties. I would be a fool not to see that my life is magical in it's own right. I may not have a wand, invisibility cloak, or a lightening shaped scar; but I do have determination, imagination, and a life full of possibilities ahead me. I don't doubt that many other adventures await me after this one. I just have to be brave and strong enough to welcome them with open arms.

17 Again? Nope.

Last week I had the pleasure of being reminded that I am most definitely getting old. This twenty-year-old body just isn't the sprite youthful thing that it used to be. Kidding... sorta. As much as twenty-somethings have youth and spunk unknown to their elders, we don't have the crazy energy of teenagers. That is zapped out of you quite quickly once you aren't a teenager anymore. This past week Johannes and Christiane's seventeen-year-old niece stayed for a couple days. I absolutely adored hanging out and going on adventures with Lea! It was one heck of a couple days. After which I proceeded to take a nap.

Lea and her family dropped by for a few days before they went on their Fall holiday house boating in France. Everyone in Germany gets a Fall holiday, how fancy is that? But Lea and I had so much fun that she decided to stay for a few days once she was done house boating with her family. This first adventure was before they went house boating, all the rest are once she got back.

On Monday (not this past week, but the week before) we visited was Karlsruher Schloss, which is one of my favorite places to just frolick about. It was a gloomy, cold, and windy day. But I love those kinds of days. Lea and I roamed about the vast castle grounds, including the Hartwald (a forest). I told Lea that one of the things my friends and I love doing is taking pictures when we are on adventures (or when we are bored haha). So I made sure we took a couple pictures while we walked around. My favorites are the ones of us walking on one of the tile spokes that show that the castle is in the middle of the city and most of the streets radiate out from it. After the castle we went to a fancy little cafe and drank absolutely amazing hot chocolate.

Lea in front of the castle.

Me walking on the blue tile "spoke".

Lea came back on Sunday with her family, and then they left that evening to go back home. Monday morning we found ourselves trying to figure out what to do. The museums aren't open on Mondays, so we couldn't go there. And other things would take too long (I had slept in a little too late). So we decided to watch the movie 'Bride Wars'. We laughed so much! But for the afternoon we did go on an adventure. Lea and I took Martha to the Karlsruhe Zoo. Now, when I think of a zoo, my mind goes directly to all the trips I have made to the San Diego Zoo and the LA Zoo. Both are huge and have a certain fancy California feel to them. The Karlsruhe Zoo is pretty much the complete opposite. It's really quaint, sprawling but not huge, and has a fanciful quality to it. It is almost like a park. I would say the main focus of this zoo is its botanical gardens (which are gorgeous) and then amongst the gardens, lakes, and rivers are the little exhibits. Another thing that surprised me was that they have animals I would never expect in a zoo because I don't consider bunnies, goats, sheep, Shetland ponies, and ducks to be exotic. There is even a petting zoo within the main zoo. This is where we spent most of our time. Martha was totally enthralled by all the goats. She spent the better part of a half an hour "training" them. It was so adorable; and Lea and I couldn't stop giggling.

See! I wasn't joking about the Shetland Ponies!

On Tuesday we once again found ourselves not being able to go to a museum because they were closed for some reason. But that morning we had more time, and were able to go sort of far. So we chose to take a train to Durlach (a suburb of Karlsruhe) and ride the Turmbergbahn. What is that? Well it's the oldest train in Germany! And it goes up the side of a mountain (more like a hill) where at the top you get an amazing view of Karlsruhe and the surrounding areas. You can even technically see France. The Turmbergbahn was really neat! But when we got to the top of the "mountain", I stopped thinking about trains. We climbed up a old watch tower from like the 1200's or 1300's to get the best view of it all. I was totally floored. The view was so amazing! The pictures I took just don't capture the vast beauty. Lea had packed us a snack (gummy bears and cookies) and we ate those as we basked in the view. It was really windy, but I like to think that it made it all much more epic.

Lea and I in the Turmbergbahn.

Just one of the epic views from the top of the tower.

Once Lea and I left the Turmbergbahn, we realized that we still had time to kill before we went to pick up Frieda from Kindergarten. Lea suggested we go and see Gottesaue Schloss, which was actually about a five minute walk from Frieda's school. The castle isn't really a castle. Nor has it ever been, so I'm not quite sure why it is called one. For a really long time it was a monastery. And then at some point it became a music college. Unlike a lot of old historical buildings, this one is not a museum. This meant we could only look at the outside. Which was fine; it was neat just strolling around the grounds  listening to all the students practicing their music.

Me in front of Gottesaue Schloss.

Lea in front of Gottesaue Schloss.

On Wednesday we finally got to go to a museum! And what a museum it was. I was super impressed by it all; I have never been to a museum like ZKM. I was really excited to go because ZKM is a modern art museum. And I do love a good art museum. But, unlike all our previous adventures we couldn't take the train (because the workers were on strike that day). So it was about a twenty minute walk from the house, in the rain. Great day for the train workers to be on strike right? Ha. The museum is in the same building as an art school, which I thought was pretty darn smart. Lea and I spent the morning nice and warm (as opposed to our walk in the cold, cold rain) looking at and interacting with the exhibits. The main exhibit at the moment is all about crazy modified cars. But the mini exhibits were all about technology. There were iPads, classic arcade games, karaoke, futuristic virtual reality games... the list goes on. It was the most amazing thing to see stuff that I am familiar with, in a museum already. I can already tell I am going to be one of those grannies that takes her grandkids to the museums and says, "When I was your age the iPad was a new fangled idea..." Nothing wrong with that right? Oh geez.

Me playing with bubbles that react to my shadow.

One of the cars from the main exhibit. It was an art piece all about the environment.

All these morning adventures combined with watching my girlies in the afternoon really made me one tired girl. When Lea left I was super bummed that I was losing my adventure buddy; but man, was I stoked to spend the next morning at home in my pajamas. Lea still has that teenage vivaciousness that I can't quite keep up with anymore (though I am pretty sure I talked her ear off). And I adore her all the more with dealing with me: the tuckered out twenty-year-old.

Being a Karlsruher

Ahh Karlsruhe. I think I am in love... with a city. Possibly the whole country. Or for that matter, maybe all of Europe. I think I am still a little starstruck at the fact that I am getting to go places I have only dreamed about. I am so blessed by this opportunity. But don't worry America, you are still my favorite.

Since I have only been here three weeks, I have yet to travel beyond Karlsruhe just yet. I know I will soon be going other places, so I am not worried. And anyways, there is just so much to explore within Karlsruhe city limits. Now, I have a gone to a good couple places (as you can see in my photos on Facebook, Picasa Web Albums, and Flickr) and I don't feel the need to go on about them all in this post. Some of them will be highlighted in a new post sometime this week. But I thought I would give you some of the observations I notice daily when I am out and about.

The first of these observations is the weather. Yes, a mundane topic, but it is an important one! Growing up in Southern California has made me, and all my fellow Southern Californians, absolute whimps when it comes to weather. The instant it starts to sprinkle, we throw on our raincoats and rain boots and walk around with umbrellas complaining how terribly cold and wet it is. When it's slightly too hot and humid we moan and groan about how darn hot it is and how terrible it is to sweat and be outside. We like our weather to not be weather at all. Karlsruhe (and all of Germany) in that respect is a Southern Californian's worst nightmare. It actually has weather. Like real rain, real snow, freezing cold temperatures, and it's known for not getting very hot at all. I'm naturally a very warm person, so the idea of being cold is nice. But when it actually happens it's not so nice. Like last Friday night, I froze my butt off (not literally haha) while walking around the city in the fog. With cold comes layers. And with layers comes a very toasty Ashley who has to strip off all her layers every time she enters a room, or she will turn into a pile of sweat. Ew. I don't want to even ponder what Winter is going to do to me. I have such a hate love hate relationship with snow. For now, the weather has been quite lovely though. It has been a proper Fall. Crisp air, mix of brilliant blue skies and cloudy, rainy days; perfect weather to wear cute clothes and an appropriate amount of layers. Today is another blue sky kind of day, I can't wait to get outside and frolick about on my bike.

This is weather from last week, so pretty. 

The second of these observations is the history. The makings of Karlsruhe began way back in 1094 when Gottesaue Monastary (which is now a music college) was created and the settlement of Durlach (which is now a suburb of Karlsruhe) bought a charter. The seat of Margrave of Baden was moved from Pforzheim to Durlach in 1565. Lots of things happened in between that I won't bore you with (wars, politics, etc) and in 1715 Margrave Karl Wilhelm started the building of a stone palace (Karlsruher Schloss) and the foundations of a city not far from Durlach. Once it was finished he transferred his seat from Durlach to Karlsruhe in 1717. Another load of things happened (such as the creation of the modern bicycle and car; no big deal). 1940 saw the end of the historically peaceful relations between Christians and Jews in Karlsruhe. Why? Because 945 Jews were deported to Gurs in the South of France. At the end of WWII in 1945, more than 35% of the city was in ruins. In 1952, the state of Baden and the state of Württemberg were combined into the new state of Baden-Württemberg. This meant that Karlsruhe was no longer a capital city. By 1967 the city has almost completely rebuilt itself from the damages that had WWII caused. And then of course a lot more history has happened since then. But those are the main key points that I wanted you to know because they really have shaped the life of this city.

Me in front of Karlsruher Schloss.

The third observation is of the city layout and the architecture. Karl Wilhelm put the Karlsruher Schloss in the middle of a big circle and city streets are like the spokes of a wheel basically. That's really for the heart of the city though, because Karlsruhe has obviously grown since 1715 and doesn't quite follow the spoke pattern. It's a really neat concept though, and actually it is one of the cities that Washington D.C. was based on. Pretty cool right? The architecture is a strange mix of old and new because of all the damage that was done to the city during WWII. I think it gives the whole city a lot of character. One moment you are looking at buildings that are several hundred years old, and then you are looking at ones that were built less than sixty years ago. The mix of old and new is a beautiful pairing and you see it in most big cities; even if they weren't destroyed by war. I am fond of the layout and architecture because it all reminds me of three cities that I love dearly: New York City, Washington D.C. and San Francisco. It's a weird mixture, I know, but it makes absolute sense to me and only makes me love the city more.

The final observation is of the city sounds. It is rarely ever quiet in a city. The wailing of ambulances and police sirens can be heard for miles. And I must say they are not at all fierce sounding like the ones back at home. Which usually makes me laugh. But I shouldn't laugh at people getting hurt or arrested... yeah, um. Moving on. The church bells are my favorite sound. Constantly ringing on the hour, reminding me what time it is. Which is great because I hardly ever know what time it is these days. The sound of a procession of cars honking, signals that there has been a wedding and you know the bride, groom, and their family and friends are on their way to the reception. Trains can be heard sliding down the tracks usually from any where in the city. I can ever hear one from my bedroom. Bike bells ringing, cars horns honking, pigeons cooing; but the most constant sound you hear is talking. Everywhere I go I hear German. I am so used to it now that I often scare myself when I talk aloud in English because the sound has become foreign to me. The city is alive with sounds. I love to just sit and listen to it all.

I have come to love Karlsruhe. I can't wait to spend a whole year living here. But I also can't wait to get outside her city limits!

I Spy With My Lil' Eye...

Having lived here in Karlsruhe three weeks; I have come to notice the many things that make Karlsruhe different from Long Beach. Mostly I get the biggest giggle out of the differences, or I like them. There are very few that I don't like. I thought I would give you a list of some of them. Tell me if you find them as interesting or different as I do! Here they are in no particular order:

1. Language. I thought I would start with the most obvious. This is the one cultural difference that is giving me a run for my money. I have never been very good with picking up languages (see my 3 years of Spanish in high school for affirmation of such). But I am a very stubborn and driven person when I want to be. I really enjoy learning, and I must push myself to learn and become fluent. I will do this... It is just going to frustrate me to no end for quite some time.

2. Food. Bread, meat, and cheese. That is my diet these days. Along with organic fruits and veggies, coffee, beer, jam, and dairy products. I love it! I just really miss American food. Don't get me started! I have been dying for a bean and cheese burrito...

3. Fashion. This one is a sorta different. There are elements of American fashion here. But there is something that makes it all uniquely German. I can't quite put my finger on it yet. But I like it, and I plan to give my wardrobe a mini style makeover while I am here.

The morphing of my style has begun!

4. Smoking. People smoke so much, everywhere! Christiane tells me only recently they made smoking and non smoking restaurants. As a So Cal girl I am so spoiled with all the rules about where and when people can smoke. I really don't like the smell of smoke, and I'm also allergic to it a bit so it makes my eyes all red and itchy. Blah.

5. Plugs/Light Switches. The plugs are all circular and have two circular holes in them. It's so strange. I need an adaptor for anything (like my straightener) that I need electricity for from the States. The light switches at my house (and other places I have been to) aren't the flick up and down ones, they are big flat squares buttons that you push to turn the light on or off. They do have the same type of dimmer light nobs here though!

6. Curbs. There are pretty much no curbs. They are like an inch tall, or there isn't any at all. Which also means the gutter system here is different. And from what I hear it handles water and snow much better than Long Beach's gutters do and doesn't flood. Just sayin' haha.

An example of the drains and no curbs.

7. Church Bells. Every hour on the hour at least one or two church bells can be heard across the city. Certain hours (like 9, 12, 6) get more bells ringing. I adore this! It makes me feel like I am in a fairytale/back in time. It also makes me think of Christmas, which makes me very,very happy.

I can hear the bells from this Catholic Church from my house!

  8. Sundays. Absolutely no stores, except the Bakers, is open. All day. It's the Lord's day and that is that. (I imagine it as... No Ashley, buying that pair of shoes is not more important than going to church. And just so you don't get tempted, I am closing all the stores!)


9. Politeness. The Americans and Germans are kinda flip flopped here. Germans don't know the meaning of bubble space. For example: standing in line at the grocery store tonight I wanted to turn around and tell the person behind me to take a step or two back. They also don't concern themselves with how tightly they squeeze past you if you are shopping or walking. And man, do they walk and bike fast! I am so not fierce enough; often times I have to just stop and get out of their way. They are friendly, but not in the way that Americans are friendly. Usually we consider people we just met as friends. But here it takes awhile to be considered an actual friend and not just an acquaintance. But, they are super friendly in so many moments where Americans would be rude. Ahh, these are little examples, it's hard to explain the widespread difference of it.

10. School System. In 4th grade kids (along with the parents) choose their future. They have to choose between three different "high schools" and only one of those leads to going to a university. Oh the pressure. I don't envy this school system all too much.

11. Finishing Your Plate. In America it's considered pretty rude to gobble down your whole plate for several reasons (including that people will think you are a fatty). In Germany, it is considered extremely rude to not finish your plate. Why? Because you aren't accepting the wonderful generosity of whoever made the food/it makes it seem like you didn't like the food.

12. Size of Food Portions. The plates, cups, spoons, etc are actually smaller here. The bowls are more shallow. It's so strange! But it's crazy how quickly I have gotten used to these portions. I can no longer eat as much as I used to (thank God) but it is kind of a problem when we are out at restaurants. The portions are bigger there. What would have been an easy plate to clear three weeks ago, is now a monumental amount of food that I struggle to finish. I have tried and failed each time we have gone out.  Remember, it's super rude not to finish your whole plate. I am try my hardest to not come across as rude, but I just can't eat it all! (Never thought I would say that!).

13. Modesty. I almost jump out of my skin everytime I see a naked or half naked people in advertisments. And I thought we were scandalous! Pff. I never realized how modest we Americans are. I blush at these ads. When did I become such a prude?!

14. AC/Heating. I have yet to see anything A/C related so I am guessing that is very few and far between; it might not even be used here. I can see why, considering it doesn't get very hot. Heating on the other hand I have seen a lot of. But not like the central heating most of us have at home. In Germany "old looking" wall heaters seem to be what is used. And when I mean old, I don't literally mean it's age, I mean they look the same as they have been making them for the past hundred years or so. I like them though. I have four in my mini apartment.

15. Cars/Transportation. To start, the cars are smaller (this is how it should be America! Step away from the SUVs and drop your keys now!). They are also used with less frequency. With trains being able to take you somewhere almost every couple of minutes, why would you take a car? And who needs to drive down perilously narrow streets when you can get around much quicker with your bike or on foot? (The fellas at Top Gear would be so ashamed of my no car promoting). Of course cars are still useful. Especially to get places that your feet, your bike, or a train can't get you to. And then of course, there is the Autobahn. You can't miss out on such a fabulous opportunity. I can't wait to learn how to drive stick shift! Then I can drive on the Autobahn (insert manical cackle here).

My bike! His name is Sebastian.

16. Houses. Most people live in apartments. It is super rare to live in a house. When you live in a house that means you have a lot of money. But the apartments here have a different vibe than the ones in California, so I don't think that everyone living in apartments is in anyway demeaning.

17. Household Appliances. It's all about actually being "green" here. So that means energy saving appliances to the max. It takes the dishwasher like and hour and a half to do one load. And it's not a very big dishwasher. The washer and dryer take almost two hours each. And they are really small too. What used to take me three loads of laundry at home now is about six loads.

18. Closets. Built in closets are not a very common thing. Most Germans buy closets for their bedrooms. How strange.

19. Beds. They are much lower to the ground. Also they don't use sheets, its all about down comforters and pillows. Which is just fine with me!

20. Sidewalks. Almost all the sidewalks I have seen have some form of cobblestone going on. Which is so neat! It makes me feel like I am stepping back in time. Of course, its deadly if you wear spiky high heels. Thank God that's not an issue I will be dealing with.

The cobblestones on Helmholtzstraße (my street).

So that's my list! There are many more I assure you. And there are a lot of similar things too. But differences are much more interesting to point out aren't they?

Four Stories Up

When I think of apartments, several mental images come to mind. The first being flashes of nasty, grimy apartments that I have been to in my lifetime, and that can be found in many corners of the globe. The second being the ritzy apartments that can be found in major cities (like NYC) that I have only seen in movies and TV. The third being the apartments my friends are slowly beginning to migrate into after leaving home. The last image is a newer, less familiar mental image. It is of the apartment that I live in, and of all the many interesting apartment buildings in Karlsruhe.

The word "apartment" brings a lot to my mind. Some thoughts negative and others positive.

Apartments hold a particular intrigue to me. As a child I grew up knowing that to live in a house was an amazing blessing, and only people on their way to the top had to live in apartments (unless you lived in said ritzy apartments). I always wanted to live in an apartment though. They were just so different from what I was used to.

I currently am living in an apartment for the first time in my life. And I love it! Of course I live in a beautiful apartment, so that makes it hard not to like. It's not the Ritz. But I think it is just perfect.

I will describe it to you!

To get to my apartment you must walk up "four flights" of stairs (more like eight in my opinion... there isn't an elevator since the building is like 200 years old) and then you will arrive at the fourth floor landing. Here you have the option to open two doors. The door directly in front of you takes you into the main apartment. The door to your left takes you to the mini apartment (my room).

The main apartment is where Johannes, Christiane, Martha, and Frieda live. It is very open, big, airy, and sunshiny. The walls and ceilings are all white and the whole apartment has light colored hardwood floors. There is a modern flair to everything, with a touch of traditional here and there.

My room is big, white, and full of light. The floors are a light hardwood, and the walls and ceilings are white. It is a very odd shape because it goes along with the shape of the roof (we are on the top floor), but it is roomy and big all the same. I have my own bathroom which also has white walls, and the floor has really pretty jade tiles. All of the furniture and accessories in both my room and bathroom are from Ikea; which gives it a modern feel. I think the coolest looking thing is the big, white flower light that hangs in the middle of the room. I am not quite finished decorating my room; it is a work in process. But I like how it is shaping up.

My flower lamp! Isn't it the coolest?!

So that is my home here in Karlsruhe! I love it so very much. Whether I spend time in my room, or hang out in the main apartment, I feel very at ease. The sense of "home" hasn't quite happened yet, but I don't think it will be too long before that feeling occurs.

From now on when I think of apartments I think this home will be the first thing that comes to my mind. And that doesn't bother me one bit.

And the Year Begins

I have been in Germany for two weeks this upcoming Friday. How strange! I still doesn't seem real. It's kinda like I am waiting for someone to tell me, "Hope you had a nice vacation, but it's time for you to go home now." But that isn't going to happen. I am going to be here a whole YEAR.

My first day here feels like ages ago. I don't recall a lot of it already because I had jet lag and that made the whole day kind of fuzzy. But I will do my best to think really hard and remember it all.

Johannes picked me up from the airport at 10 am (ish) in the family car. I have only been in that car once since that day. Germans have cars of course, but because they have amazing public transportation (ex. trains) and everything you need isn't "super far away" you can just bike or walk. Cars are used only for holidays and places where it would be easier to drive to than take the train.

It was a beautiful drive; I didn't expect Germany to be so green! Of course the leaves are starting to change colors, and soon there won't be any colors at all... but that is besides the point. Another thing that suprised me was how much open space there was. Coming from LA County, the land of squished together suburbs; it's strange to find myself in a very different place (we aren't in Kansas anymore Toto). A place where cities are actually not right next to each other. Weird. But neat.

I didn't just look out the window the whole time! Johannes and I talked the whole way. Or should I say I talked the whole way... he got in a couple thoughts in here and there haha. We covered a wide range of topics, but I won't bore you with a play by play of the conversation. One of the things that we did talk about was speed limits on the Autobahn. I was pretty stoked at how fast we were going (and that I was actually on the Autobahn) and Johannes was like ehh no big deal, I like driving in the States better. What?! Ehh.

The middle part of the day is a blur. But it is kind of coming back to me as I really ponder it. I met Christiane and all her colleagues and her boss at her work (embarrassing! I looked a total mess after being on a plane so long. But they were all so sweet). And then I got to go with Christiane and Johannes to get Martha from school. Martha was having two new friends over so they played all afternoon at the house. I think it was Johannes that went and got Frieda from school around that time. Point being, we all had lunch at the house and I got the tour.

The first I walked into my room I was so stoked. I still get pretty stoked every time I walk in. It is big and white and airy. It's amazing how much light gets in the room. The room was pretty bare, except for the bed, because I was going to go with Christiane the next day to get stuff from Ikea. They wanted me to personalize it. Which I am so thankful I go the opportunity to do. I am quite the interior design nerd. It looks much more homey now, but it's not quite there yet. Just a couple more things to add. All in due time of course.

Then as a family we went on a bike ride (me on a rented bike since I didn't have my own bike at this point). I got to see the castle grounds and the castle in the middle of Karlsruhe. The city is really amazing and I could scarcely take it all in. I was loving it all though. We stopped at an organic food store (think German Trader Joe's) and bought some items we needed. And then we went to a Biergarten by our house and had dinner. I had pasta (not very German, I know, shame on me) and my first legal beer! I love the drinking age here.

I didn't take any photos today so here is a great aerial view of the castle and part of it's grounds that I found on Google. Amazing right?

We got home and I pretty much jumped for joy that it was bedtime. I don't think I have ever been so excited to go to bed before midnight. My head hit the pillow and I was out like a light.

Plane Adventures

Most people really loathe airports; but I love them. As much as they stress me out, I can't get over how much beauty is taking place. At an airport people tend to show their true emotions all over their faces. If they are pissed off at the security guard, you know it. If they are deeply sad that they won't be seeing a relative for several months, you know it. And if there is extreme joy in homecoming of a friend, you know it. There is so much to soak in at an airport. I love just sitting and observing.

I was lucky enough to fly to Germany. And with flying there are airports! The plan was that I would fly from LAX to Philly, and then from Philly to Frankfurt. Three airports! So I was pretty darn stoked. Of course I wasn't so stoked that I would be on one plane for 5 hours and another plane for 8 hours. Quite the trek.

LAX. I can't count how many times I have flown out of this place or dropped off people there. I know this place well. But this still didn't help the nervous feeling in my stomach the whole drive there. Amber, Johanna, and Megan drove me to the airport. Which I loved. They are fabulous friends to wake up early on a Thursday for me.

We pulled up to the US Airways drop off area and got out of the car. At that point I couldn't quite process that I would be leaving California for a whole year, and would be leaving all my friends and family too. So I hugged my girlies and headed off to the check-in counter without even crying. I would have bet money that I would have cried. But I surprised myself. I think I was just too nervous about getting my butt all the way to Germany without issue that I could think about little else.

The lady at the check-in counter was a scary beast to behold. She seemed nice; until she opened her mouth. Attitude with a capital A. But she helped me get my tickets and my big red bag checked; and I am thankful for that. I headed off to security after that.

Ahh security. Everyone's favorite place in the airport. It's hilarious to see everyone stripping off their shoes, jackets, belts, and jewelry. It's quite scandalous if you think about it. No where else in America is that really "allowed" unless you are behind closed doors. The fabulous older lady in front of me turned around and sarcastically said to me "Anything I forgot to take off? Because there isn't much left." All I could do was laugh and shake my head.

When it was my turn to walk through the metal detector the thing went off. I had accidentally bumped into the side of it, and that apparently makes it go off. So I had to walk through it again, and guess what? I got selected for addition screening! Yippee. There is something extremely shameful about standing in a small clear plastic "room" in your socks. You become the curiosity of the moment and everyone stares at you probably thinking, "I didn't know blondes were terrorists" or "oh that poor girl, she is going to miss her plane." It's also embarrassing to think that you are going to be felt up by a female security guard. Thank the Lord they couldn't find an available one! All I had to do was get my fingers swabbed with something and then I was free to collect my things and put my shoes back on.

The older lady who was in front of me earlier was sitting on the nearest bench putting on her shoes. I sat down and joined her. We ended up having a little conversation. She was going to San Francisco for a friend's funeral. Apparently the friend had cancer so it hadn't been a surprise when she found out that they died. But it was still sad of course. I told her about my adventure to Germany, and she smiled and told me that I was going to have a great year. After we finished readjusting ourselves, we said goodbye and headed our to different terminals.

I got to my gate like ridiculously early. So I just sat there and listened to my iPod and people watched. Finally boarding began like an hour and half later. My section (right on the wing) was the last to board. How the heck does that make any sense?

So I got to the front where they check your ticket. The stewardess looked at my rolly suitcase and told me I had to check it because it wouldn't fit in the overhead compartment. I sighed and complied. Though I definitely grumbled to myself about how it so totally would fit. Thankfully I found out later that I didn't have to pay for it. And I must admit that it was nice only having to deal with my overstuffed backpack. So that made me happier.

The plane ride itself was pretty uneventful. I got middle seat (gag me with a spoon). To my right was an older lady (older than the last one) reading a book called "Over the Hill but Not Out to Pasture." I pretty much had to hold in a lot of giggles for that. To my left was a guy about my age. He kinda reminded me of a less surfer boy version of my friend Arthur. The guy slept like the whole time except for when he watched Super Troopers on his Mac. I got a kick out of that. I slept a little, read a bit of The Secret Garden on my Kindle, and then watched a movie. No, there was not an inflight movie, and no, I did not have my computer. I must admit that I watched The Other Boleyn Girl over the shoulder of the woman sitting in front of me to the right. Of course I didn't get sound, but I have seen the movie before so I was fun to make up lines for the actors. I think the lady knew I was watching it. How embarrassing haha. Well, not long after the movie ended, the plane stretched out its wheels and we landed.

Philly. I had never been there until the plane landed. And since I was only in the airport the whole time I was there, I still technically haven't been there. And I was only there about and hour and a half. My first plane landed early, thank God, otherwise I wouldn't have made it to the next plane in time. Because my plane arrived early, we "parked" (it's funny to think of a plane parking haha) at a totally different gate. Which was completely on the other side of the airport of where I needed to be. So I pretty much ran to the bathroom (acknowledging in the mirror that I looked like a total mess), and then ran down the airport (with the help of those cool flat escalators). I couldn't help but laugh because every five feet there were white rocking chairs. Apparently Philly wants you to feel like you are just chilling on your porch when you are at their airport. So I found a food court and ordered Chickfila. At this point I had like fifteen minutes to find the right gate. I fast walked (I was so over running) to the gate while scarfing down chicken nuggets and fries. I found the gate and plopped down into one of those strangely comfortable seats that you only find in airports.

I looked up to find a man staring at me. He seemed European (which turned out to be wrong, he definitely was American). I think I made a pretty big entrance haha, he probably thought I was crazy. We kept making awkward eye contact until it was time for us to board the plane. I was near the wing again (my favorite place) so I got called last again. So did the man sitting across from me. All I could think was "oh my gosh I am going to have to sit next to him, how embarrassing."

I found my seat, and surprise, surprise I had a middle seat again. (I died a little inside). I didn't end up sitting next to the man, but he was a seat over from me. How does that work? Well it was a huge plane! One of the ones with three rows of seats and two aisles. So we continued to have awkward eye contact the whole plane ride. Typical.

The people who I was sitting in between were a married couple that missed their flight and had to get placed onto the one I was on. (So if they hadn't missed their plane I would have had the whole row to myself... such selfish thoughts). They never said where they were from, but I knew. They have the same accents as my grandparents. They were definitely from Texas. The wife explained to me how she was a retired stewardess and had a bunch of flying benefits, so she and her hubby decided to go to Amsterdam (wonder what they were going to do there... giggle). So they had one more plane to catch once we landed in Frankfurt. Dang. That is a lot of airplane time. The couple was super sweet and we talked on and off throughout the flight. I eventually switched seats with the wife so she could sit next to her husband. She wasn't thrilled on sitting in the middle seat, but sitting next to her husband won out over her discomfort. So that meant I got an aisle seat! Wahahaha.

I spent all freaking eight hours as a very wiggly girl. I just couldn't handle the thought of being couped up so long. I wanted to walk up and down the aisles, but you get reaaaally weird looks when you do that. And the stewardesses start think you are going to take over the plane or something. So I stayed in my seat and watched all three inflight movies (well sorta, I fell asleep a lot). Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is very strange to watch when it is in German. The movie sucked, but at least the German made it entertaining. Next was Water for Elephants in English. Which was great, and I was totally into the movie. That is until my headphones broke. So I was left watching the rest of the movie without sound. Fail. The third movie was one of those Big Mama movies. It was really dumb and I was glad at that point that my headphones were not working.

My favorite thing about the flight came in the form of a three year old German boy. He and his dad were in the row in front of me. And about every five minutes (except for the 5 or so hours that he slept) he would turn around in his seat and talk to me. Which was hilarious. One, because he spoke a mixture of German and English, so it was hard to follow what he was talking about. Two, he was so darn adorable. Three, his father was soooo embarrassed but tried to play it off like it was no big deal. At one point towards the last hour of the flight, the little boy got out of his seat and stood next to mine. I was reading my Kindle, and he really wanted to play with it. So I showed him how it worked. He tried to use it like a touch screen (kids these days) and I just laughed. Eventually I distracted him and we played a game. I would tell him an animal and he would pretend to be it. He really loved being a dragon. The other people in their seats did not like the game as much as we did...

Finally the plane landed in Frankfurt. I was about ready to run down the aisle and hightail it as fast as I could out of the airport. I was ready to get off that plane and start my adventure. But of course I couldn't. The ramp that connects to the plane wasn't working. So all the passengers had to wait for them to fix it. And then when it was decided it wasn't going to get fixed right then, we had to wait for them to find some roll away stairs. We were finally able to exit the plane like thirty minutes later.

My first reactions to Germany? "Dang it's chilly. And wow the sky is blue! Like blue, blue." And then it was inside again. So I went through a line where I had to show my passport, and then it was off to the baggage claim. My luggage was some of the first things out. I grabbed them and awkwardly proceeded to walk away with two rolly suitcases and a backpack.

I didn't see Johannes right away so I figured I would just sit down and wait. Then a horrible thought struck me: what if we don't find each other?! My phone no longer had service now that I was in Germany. And I had no European money to make a pay phone call. Fear started to creep up on me. As I was trying to come up with a plan, I heard my name. It was Johannes! I was so darn glad to see him.  He grabbed my luggage and we set off to the car and to my new life.

Bite Size Thoughts

Friends and Family, I have failed miserably at updating you about my first week in Karlsruhe. But that is going to change as of this evening!

I have been putting off posting anything because I knew I had so much to say and I was lazy and didn't want to type it all out. I still am feeling lazy about it, but my need to share wins out over laziness. Please forgive me for any spelling mistakes, the computer I am using is German and it thinks every English word I write is spelled incorrectly. So I never know if I am spelling anything wrong unless I catch it with my ever so keen eye...

My plan is to break up my thoughts into easy to read "short" blog posts. That way you can pick and choose which ones sound interesting and I won't get side tracked while typing and end up writing about the WWI memorial down the street from my apartment for like five years in one epically long blog post. Which I would seriously do. WWI memorials are really cool! I stared at the one down the street from me for a good ten minutes today. But that is for another post. (And I'm sure only Andrew and I find such things interesting).

Bite size thoughts, not as tasty as an apple, but still awesomely delicious.