BEST PLACE IN THE WORLD!!!

SEATTLE!!! I'm really excited today because even though I've only been home for a day I get to go to the best place in the world! To see my WONDERFUL, PERFECT boyfriend!!! Paul!!! Can't wait to celebrate his birthday with him for real this year!!! I LOVE HIM TONS!!!

Last week...

...or something like that. So my vow to post more often didn't happen But that's because not much happened at the beginning of the week, per usual, and everything happened at the end of the week and by Saturday (or one could say Sunday as it was 1 in the morning) I was too tired to write out all my adventures. So where to start...

Nothing much happened the first of the week because Marie worked and I lazed about, enjoying reading The Chronicles of Narnia because I hadn't read them before. (I'm still finishing, I don't know why it's taking me so long...) And then Thursday came around and Marie was invited to go out to dinner with some members of her ward. We went to a nice little Italian restaurant where I could only read some of the words because they were so similar to French. However, after asking over and over again what things were, I settled for a Pizza calzone, which was delicious (and the word that looks like pepperoni in German doesn't really mean pepperoni but in fact actual peppers). Pizza in Germany is different because they use salami instead of pepperoni, however, it didn't taste as bad as I thought it would, in fact, I really kinda like it... We spent three hours out to dinner, only spending about thirty minutes actually eating. In Europe the dinner table is a place for conversation. At restaurants the customer is not pushed out the door as soon as they finish eating. Waiters leave you alone until your glass is empty and they ask if you want more (and they actually ask because refills are NOT free--which is how they make their money). And such was the case Thursday night. And unfortunately I was left out of all conversation. Not by choice, but because I was sitting in just the wrong spot to be able to participate and I'm not a military wife, nor am I pregnant--for the military life and being pregnant were the topics of conversation in the two groups that separated around me. So I just sat there, trying to listen but not getting much. However, the dinner was great. However before dinner Marie and I went into downtown Bamberg to go do some more shopping so I could get souvenirs for myself to put in my wonderfully new curio cabinet! (yay!)

Friday rolled around and started out to be sunny so Marie and I decided to go to the swimming pool (I forget the German word...schwimbat? something that sounds like that, at least to me). We were going to go back to Nurnberg and Palm beach but things happened to prevent us from going so we settled on the Bamberg swimming hole. And of course by the time we arrived the weather decided to cool down a lot and threaten rain. We stayed for about and hour and a half just soaking in the freezing cold water before the really black clouds decided to hang out over the pool. Then we went to dinner at a Greek place near post. The food was great! I ordered Gyro, at my sister's preference. Gyro is pork. They seem to like pork over there. The meat was perfectly seasoned and was enhanced by the sauce that they used. I have no idea what it was, but it was good! I didn't take a picture because I forgot the camera :( sorry. At the Greek restaurant they give you complimentary shots. The first glass they gave us smelled of black licorice. My sister told me they would be offended if we left the glasses full on the table so she took her napkin and soaked up her drink and put it in her purse. I just dumped mine in my large empty glass. Unfortunately they brought us a second shot when they brought our check. It was red. The lady made it sound like it was alcohol free so my sister went to try it. She sniffed it and said it didn't smell like alcohol but when she got her lip to the cup she could feel the alcohol burning in her mouth. I just laughed at her because I figured it was alcohol and not a fruitdrink. So to wash out the taste of that drink from my sister's mouth we went and got some ice cream. Just a cone with a single scoop. My sister got her favorite--it's a vanilla ice cream with chocolate pieces in it--and I got what would be my favorite--Amaretto with just the perfect blend of chocolate and cherry, delicious! And then it started to rain so we went back to post and stayed inside. Besides, we needed to get to bed early because the next day was going to be a big one!

So Saturday, August 23, 2008, I was able to travel to 11 countries in nine hours. On foot. That's right. I went to a horror house in Italy,

raced in fast cars in France, climbed the matterhorn in Switzerland and then raced in bobsleds across the Alps,

made a telephone call in England, associated with Pirates in Scandanavia, launched into space from Russia, and then danced in the rain in Spain!
So, as you can tell, I ended up in a theme park after a long five hour drive on a tour bus. I had a great time, though! Marie and I got to do just about everything we wanted because we broke away from the youth group Marie was supposed to be supervising. (They waited around for ages just trying to decide which bathroom they wanted to use first.) I had lots of fun. Here are more pictures of just silly things Marie and I did:

(<--- That's a Gyro in a pita pocket)

I scream you scream we all scream for Ice CREAM!

So I've been eating a lot of ice cream. They are brilliant here, in Germany. They've discovered if you like walking around on a hot day, it might just be possible you need something to cool your throat and rehydrate your body. Why not have some ICE CREAM to do that! There are ice cream stands all over the place around here. I LOVE it! On top of that, they have realized if you're a sucker for Italian food you might enjoy their pasta ice cream selections. Yes. Pasta ice cream. Spaghetti ice cream. Lasagna ice cream. I have had the spaghetti and it is delicious! Couldn't tell you which kind I had because it was in German, but it had a little coffee flavor to it mixed just perfectly with the chocolate syrup that played the sauce part of my spaghetti. The coolest part is, the ice cream (noodles) actually look like spaghetti noodles!!! They're all folded over each other in a pile of a mess that just cries "Mama mia!" Okay, so that came out of nowhere... Well, I don't have any pictures of the ice cream because every time Marie and I have gone out for one neither of us has our cameras. Sad. But I still have a week. Speaking of week...I haven't posted much on the past week... So here it goes:

Sunday I slept in, didn't go to church or nothin'. Woke up late. Didn't realize it. Oh well. So Marie and I relaxed, watched movies, and let the Sunday experience wash over us. It just emphasized to me that nothing but food places are opened on Sunday here in Germany. Kinda crazy. Monday Marie still had to work so we waited for her to get home before doing hardly anything. I don't know if I should do a day by day analysis because I can hardly remember which days we did things...unfortunately. So we didn't do much for the first part of the week. Thursday, however, we went into Bamberg again and did some more shopping. I got some souvenirs for some family. Haven't finished yet because I'm not a big shopper and, to be honest, I don't do well picking out gifts for people. So we'll still need to go out shopping to finish buying gifts... Anyway...Then we made it to a castle that is in Bamberg. Again no pictures on this one because...well actually because my camera battery died so I couldn't get any. Yes, I know, sad. Friday, because it rained, we didn't do much. We had a girl's night in. We went grocery shopping and then Marie made me a wonderful dinner of roast beef with mashed potatoes and corn with some sparking grape juice. It was yummy!!

Saturday was a great day too! I woke up early thinking we were going to spend the entire day out but it ended up some of the people Marie invited to go on our out-of-town adventure needed more time so our meeting time got pushed slowly from 11 to 11:30 to 12. People and their punctuality, right. Well, we started out by going to Nurnberg for shopping. Which apparently the group we went with didn't agree that that was the best plan because instead of looking in stores we kinda passed them quickly. Twice. So we travelled out of town (an hour drive) to get food. Well, we actually went to Palm Beach! I don't know why women wear bikini's in an indoor swimming pool...right over my head...but anyway. Palm Beach was great. We spent about an hour in the wave pool where artificial waves literally swept me away. I had a hard time being in there because I had my contacts in because my contact case got left in the car by accident and I didn't know what else to do. After Brandy and I couldn't stand sitting in the wave pool much longer we went to some mineral pools. Very suave. The first pool we went into was warm and relaxing. The mineral (though I don't know what it was because it was all in German and I didn't think to look at the name of it) was supposed to help back problems. It was nice. However, it was very salty. Which was a hard lesson learned for Brandy and me because we both tried washing our faces in the pool. Salt salt salt. Yummy! Finally we had to switch pools. The other one was good. No salt. Great for washing salt off, in fact. It was good and relaxing to be in a warm pool without children screaming and splashing and running.

Well, that was hardly the end of the day. Marie, Darika, and myself bought a pass to go in the Saunas. Very very very relaxing day. However, the sauna was a nude only sauna. It really wasn't as awkward as I thought it would be. I didn't feel like I had to worry once. It was very comfortable (we could, of course, keep our towels around us if we wished, which the three of us did while we walked from Sauna to sauna). The first room we entered there were a LOT of people sitting in there, but we sat there with our towels around us all self-conscious. When everyone left to get some fresh air we stayed in the lemon room letting our pores become clean and our lungs and noses become clear. It was so fantastic. We finally decided to not be self conscious and just lied on our towels naked as we sweat and relaxed. It really was the second most relaxing thing I've ever done. Then we went into a salt sauna that we had to take our towels off because what you do is take a cup of salt and rub it all over your body while you sit in the most humid of conditions and literally let the salt melt off of you. Outside the hot room is a shower room but the water was FREEZING cold. However, it was kinda refreshing. Then we went into one more Salt room that wasn't as hot, but it was still nice. My skin was clear and smooth like I've not had it in a long long long time. Great treatment. And my entire group didn't even want to go! Crazy, no?

I would recommend going to Palm beach and taking a Sauna tour any day! In fact, I'm hoping I can do it again sometime this next week. (I'll keep my fingers crossed...) Well, I'll try to be better about keeping up, and I have some pictures to put up as well! I'm going to try putting them with the posts they belong to. Enjoy! :D

What lies ahead before me...?

Well, there's not much to report from across the pond and half the world away (though I don't really think I'm half a world away...I failed geology). I can give a weather forecast. It's been: rain, rain, partly cloudy, rain, some more rain, and a bit of sun peaking through the thick fluffy rainclouds. However, it's not really been too bad. My sister is still working, but that has given me some time to look for a job for when I get back stateside! (Hence the title.) Other than feeling I don't think I'll actually accomplish becoming a member of my dream industry, I'm kinda actually excited to be applying for jobs. Okay, so I haven't applied to any yet, but I found one place that would be PERFECT to work at because it consists of a bit of ghostwriting but mostly editing and getting books published for people. On one level I think I could so do it...on another I'm scared to death and think I'm not even qualified. I guess this is part of growing up. I just hope I can find something and soon.

So back to Germany...as this blog was set up for my adventures around the world.

Wednesday I went on a field trip with my sister. She works at a child care center and is leader of her own class. We went to a bird show. It was interesting for the first fifteen minutes but they seemed to just be showing us the same tricks over and over and over again. However, I did get some great pictures! I had never seen a vulture up so close before! Now I have a few pictures. The same with a bald eagle! My camera is awesome! I got a lot of great pictures of the birds flying that turned out great, if I do say so myself. Now I'm just waiting for my cord to show up still...silly me for thinking I had it in my camera bag with my camera! I should have checked. oh well. All reading this blog will just have to wait until I can either show my pictures in person or just wait until I get the cord to put them up on here! :D

Then Thursday Marie and I just stayed inside, enjoyed a little bit of piece and quiet and relaxation. Last night we went shopping and I got a cute new dress and shirt (I'm not a big shopper...) and Marie got a few new shirts. Then we went out to have some dinner with a few of Marie's friends from work. It was a lot of fun!

Today we didn't do much either. We slept in until about nine then went to see a yellow palace (personally I think it needed another paint job...) and then we walked a LOT to see a monastery. We never made it to that palace, we got lost. Oh well. We still have two more weeks and neither of us seem to be adventurous enough to get out of Bamberg. Marie because she has to work and me because I know nothing of the surrounding area. I guess I could look up some information online, but that still doesn't stop Marie from working and not having the time to get places that all close by 8 pm. (I know! CRAZY!!!)

Well, that's all for now, folks! -meepmeep- ;D

Pork pork pork

As you'll quickly learn I like to talk about the food I eat at different places. The last time I visited Europe I wrote a lot about the food I ate, unfortunately I wasn't smart enough to take pictures (though I don't think I'll be forgetting what chicken and french fries looks like any time soon). I, however, am now in possession of a digital camera so I can waste as many spaces of pictures on food as I can!

Anyway, I title this particular blog "Pork pork pork" for the particular reason because for the past two dinners I've had pork. One I had was called schnitzel: fried pork with frenchfries, some salad, and ketchup. Lots and lots of ketchup. I didn't get a picture of it, unfortunately, because I didn't think about it. However, it was at this restaurant that I managed to meet a wonderful guy named Hans. He's tall, dark, and...handsome wouldn't fit, but he did have some nice abs! As soon as I get the cords to put my pictures up I'll put him up as well! He's a real fighter, that one is! After dinner my sister bought me dessert: a chocolate covered something on top of a waffer. It was all right, not particularly my favorite, but it had an interesting texture. Again I didn't get a picture of that because I wasn't thinking about my camera at the time. We didn't do much else because my sister worked all day and many of the places close early.

Today, however, August 5th, we got to do a little more. My sister, Marie is her name, took me to down town Bamberg where we ate Doner (picture to come later, I hope) which was bread stuffed with shredded pork so tender it literally fell apart in your hands topped with some garlic sauce that made the pork go down easier, and a slice of some unknown-to-me cheese. It was delicious. After we sat at a fountain to eat (because there were no tables for us) we wandered around the town, going off to visit cathedrals, rose gardens, and the market. (All pictures to be seen later.)

My sister showed me the town hall and explained the picture painted on the building and the statues protruding from the building. She said there was a belief that cherubs would fly around during the night but had to be back with the picture before midnight; however, some of the more mischeivous cherubs decided to stay out as late as they possibly could before returning to their safe picture, not believing the rumours that they would be turned mortal if they stayed out past the twelfth stroke of the middle of the night. There is one picture with a human leg sticking out of the building, and one with everything but the arm stuck outside in the mortal world. I thought that was interesting.

Well, that should do it for now! Can't wait to post some more and have more adventures!

First day far away

Well, I've made it to Germany! I feel so lost...

Not really! I've only been here for a day but I've had a blast at it! I've been able to meet some interesting people. All very nice and all that jazz. I spent my morning at church services. It was interesting to have to wait for a translation for either the German speakers or English speakers. However, that hardly detracted from anything. I watched my sister give a lesson to her Young Women group. She did really well, far better than I could have done for myself. Then we decided to go out to eat for lunch so I could start trying some German food. I got "currywurst": bratwurst with some sort of barbeque sauce and curry on it; I also got fries with ketchup. They like ketchup around here. That and Mayo. I don't like Mayo...something about the yucky taste, it's certainly no miracle whip.

After that we came home and I took a short nap to catch up on some sleep I missed from all the travelling (it was great fun! :D). Then we went over to a friend of my sister's. Her name is Karen Read. She served us dinner with her family. It was very delicious. A nice traditional Sunday dinner with lots of vegetables and some meat with gravy on it. (I personally liked the potatoes the best, I want to know how to make potatoes like that...)

However, that's mostly what we've done so far. It's not been much beacause I have horrible jetlag and am exhausted still. And we've not really planned anything, which is all right. We'll get something planned and go out and have some fun, like going clubbing or to a nudist spa or something crazy like that! ;)

Hope everyone else is enjoying life like me!