Rothenburg & Würzburg Christmas Markets

Hello! I decided to do a vlog, for several reasons that you don't really care about it. However, I was exhausted, between jet-lag and a long weekend trip, so I only went with one take. Please to forgive any errors or oddities. I say umm a lot. Enjoy!

Munich, Dachau, and the Eagle's Nest

So, this weekend was a whirlwind trip, fabulously planned and driven by George. We left early Friday morning and drove to Dachau with two vehicles, 10 adults, two children, and one dog. There was a lot of time in the van, much of it spent ill from car-sickness or some kind of stomach bug, even more of it spent asleep, but a good portion in some interesting conversations. The whole weekend was immensely enjoyable, so yay George!!

Dachau
First stop on Friday afternoon was the Dachau concentration camp memorial. I have been here once before, two Novembers ago, but the day I came was dark and icy. Much of the memorial was closed, and the silence was eerie. This time, the sun was shining, everything was open, and the whole place abounded with tour groups of various nationalities. We saw the film in English, then walked through the barracks and the museum. Afterwards, we walked around the rest of the camp, which was all new to me. We saw the chapels and memorials, mass graves, and the old and new crematoriums. When I was here last, it was easy to think of the places as the hell-hole it was, full of death and torment, with ice on the ground and snow laying in dirty drifts against the buildings and bare trees. This time, with sunshine and birds singing, seeing the brick building with it's chimney sticking into the sky, and green trees and flowers lining the paths, it's hard to believe that such evil can hide behind such innocuous beauty.


Eagle's Nest
On Saturday, we got up early to drive down to Berchtesgaden (which is ridiculously hard to spell!) to go to the Eagle's Nest. The Eagle's Nest was a gift from the Nazi Party to Hitler for his 50th birthday. Known in German as the Kehlsteinhaus, it sits on a cliff some 6000 feet above the valley floor. To get up to it, we drove up a hill and parked, then took a bus up to just below the house, then took an elevator inside the mountain face up to the chalet. The tunnel through the mountain to the elevator is long and damp, but large enough that cars could drive through it to keep important dignitaries (and Hitler himself) from having to get wet. Apparently, Hitler himself was rarely at the Eagle's Nest due to a fear of heights...
We were there on a cloudy day, which many people found unfortunate. I, however, have been lucky enough to be atop several very high peaks in clear sunshine, and found the clouds a very pleasant change. They gave the whole mountain an ethereal look, especially as the Kehlsteinhaus disappeared into the cloudbank. From the rocks above the house, you could see a cloud wrapping around the promontory, then suddenly cutting off on the side of the cliff and exposing the dizzying view of the towns so far below.

Munich
On Friday night, Jonathan, Joe, Justin and I (all the people in the picture above) went into Munich for a while, but Saturday night was when the whole group went in to the Hofbrauhaus. Let me tell you, that place is an experience. While there are Hofbrauhauses all over Germany, Munich's is the most famous. At the end of September, it becomes the center of the oh-so-popular Oktoberfest. Throughout the rest of the year, however, it still thrives. When we first arrived, we couldn't find any seats anywhere in the vast hall. Tables were crowded together, filled to overflowing with very loud Germans and tourists of all ages and nationalities. It was very hot, very crowded, and very loud. There was a traditional German band, consisting of accordions and brass instruments and Bavarian costume right behind our table, and periodically you would hear clapping and chanting breaking out, which usually meant somewhere, someone in the hall was chugging a liter of beer. (It apparently only comes in liter steins there.) Occasionally whole tables would stand up and start singing, glasses were raised, cheers given. Girls walked around selling giant pretzels and German cookies in their dirndls. The food was all typically German, lots of bread and sausage and cheese and meat. It was definitely an experience to be remembered!

IBC Singles Conference - Berlin

So, this weekend, Brad was the guest speaker for the IBC (International Baptist Church) convention in Berlin. Two soldiers, Gordon and Justin, came with us on the trip. Singles from all over the world who are now living in Europe were there. We had people from Germany, America, the Ukraine, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Poland, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Kenya, Switzerland, Korea, China, Japan, and I'm sure there were several more that I missed. Almost everyone spoke at least two languages, some more than six - all spoke English. It was really cool to get to interact with such a multi-cultural group, especially since almost all had one major thing in common - a love of Christ. (photo is my small group)

The actual conference was pretty fun. There would be music, and then Brad spoke from the book of Jonah at the sessions, and then we broke out into small groups for discussion, which was then followed by a time of fellowship with the whole group. On Saturday afternoon we were able to explore Berlin a bit, and our group went to see the Reichstag and the Brandenburger Tor, the Holocaust Memorial, and the Sony Center. We managed to get completely soaked running to the train station through pouring rain, but it was really cool. We got Dunkin' Donuts and Starbucks - what a taste of home!

One of the coolest things for me was:
I was walking up to dinner the first night, and as I walked in, a girl at the first table stared at me and beckoned me over. She looked familiar, but I'm in Berlin, 6000 miles from home, how could I possibly know her? It turned out to be Bethany Andrews, the sister of one of my good friends, who went to Northwest and just graduated from Southwestern a couple years ago. Last time I saw her was before coming to Germany last summer, as I was talking to her and her family about raising my support. We had no idea we were on the same continent, much less going to the same conference. She's been teaching English in Spain and came over with the IBC Madrid church. It was great to get to catch up with her and pray with her and just know someone from home.

Camping in the Alps

So, every year for Memorial Day weekend, several of the Cadence Hospitality Houses come together for a camping trip in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland. This was my first chance to go, and it was pretty incredible. There were upwards of 100 people from four different houses and a couple other bases. Our group was Brad and Debbie and I, Gordon - one of the returned soldiers! - and the Short family, who are Malachi workers. (Malachi is Cadence's youth ministry.)

Friday
Friday we drove down to Lauterbrunnen, and my first reaction was to take out my camera and want to run around like crazy. Our campsite was deep in a valley, with several waterfalls pouring down from the heights, a constant rushing in the background. At the end of the valley, majestic, snow-covered alps soared into the sky. More on that later. We set up camp, and I have to say, I had the most interesting tent. German made, you set up the rain fly with poles and stake it into the ground, then you hang the tent from the inside, and it creates a room (the tent) and a kind of covered area, with another door leading outside. Quite handy, all told. And yes, this campground (Camping Jungfrau, if you want to look it up) is defintiely cheater camping. By that I mean, while I slept in a tent, there were showers, toilets, sinks, dishwashers, dishwashing sinks, laundry, laundry-sinks, anything sinks (there were lots of sinks...which begins to be a strange word after that many mentions!), microwaves and toasters and various other kitcheny things in the reception area, electricity...name an amenity, they probably had it. Half the campground is permanent campers/bungalow/cabin-y things. It was quite nice. After set up and dinner, we headed over to a little church, where Brad was the nightly speaker. After a time of worshipping through music, Brad started off each night with a highly-andticipated skit for the kids, and then spoke from the book of Jonah.

Saturday
Before the sun rose on Saturday, Brad and Gordon set off with a couple of the Stuttgart folks to hike up to Schilthorn, a 9000+ foot peak. I was up before them, but that was due to jet lag and freezing on the ground in my mummy bag. After a shower (gasp!), I was up and headed off to Grindelwald, a town high in the alps, to catch a gondola up to First, a 7100 ft peak. I went with a bunch of the K-town folk, and had a great time. Grindelwald was beautiful enough, with it's chalets and gorgeous mountain views and touristy shops. We did notice that the American flag was upside down on a hotel front, and a couple of the soldiers quickly righted this wrong.

After walking around the city, we headed up the mountain. Wow. I have been to the top of Zugspitze, which is the highest mountain in Germany and on a clear day affords a view of about 200 km in each direction, but this was something else. Mountains are my favorite landscape, and being this high and still being towered over by greater peaks was an incredible feeling. I stared up at Eiger, Monch, and Junfrau in awe. The sky was full of parasailers, and I cannot imagine what the view from there must have been - where I was was already breathtaking. I took more than 150 pictures from First, and it almost pains me to know that none of them can come close to adequately capturing what I saw.

Sunday
Sunday morning, Brad and Gordon set off with Sam (the dog) and hiked to Wengen, where Debbie and I met them after having taken the train with a bunch of the Rammstein group. We explored the tiny town and settled down to a most delicous lunch. I had Swiss Rösti, which are a kind of potatoes, similar to hashbrowns, ish. Anyways, they were covered over with ham and a lot of swiss cheese (not the holey type), and it was deeeeelicous. Lunch was followed by a game of Nertz (I won!) and then a run down the mountain. Yes, I ran down about halfway, chasing and being chased by Sam. We had fun playing, but I am now sore! The hike down gave great views of the Lauterbrunnen valley, which I had been hoping for all weekend. When we got back to camp, sweaty and exhausted, it began to rain, so Gordon and I set up the card table in the 'big room' of my tent and played many more games of Nertz...which I continued to win. :) After our evening session, a couple girls from Heidelberg joined our not-fire (we were fireless, but had good discussions around our lantern) while Gordon and I played yet again - same result. That sounds like bragging, and I guess it is, but I do so love that game - and winning it. :) I'll be done now.

Monday
Monday morning we broke camp, loaded up the van, and set off back for The Festaburg. It's been surprisingly warm, for Germany, and with no ac the trip back seemed long, (especially for Sam, on whom the sleeping bags kept fallling!) but it made coming 'home' that much more wonderful. We unloaded quite quickly and settled down to unpack and unwind. I have spent the last several hours trying to nurse my computer back to a semblance of help, prayers are always appreciated on that score. :) We had a quiet dinner, and I am excited because tomorrow I will hopefully get my base pass and - I'll tell you the other good news after it happens. :) :) :)

Long Weekend

Thursday
Thursday, Brad and Debbie and I loaded up the car and set off for Bamberg, to visit another Hospitality House while the carpets dried after their shampooing. Our first stop was Heidelberg, for some sightseeing. We hiked up to the castle (and it is a very steep hike!) and toured the ruins and not-so-ruins. After walking back down, we stopped and thoroughly enjoyed the elusive Starbucks - one of the few places here that will give you free ice-water! It was a very warm, sticky day, hotter than it normally gets here in Germany. After finishing our deliciously cold drinks, we got in the car and headed towards Wurzburg, where we stopped for dinner. We also walked around the gardens of the Residence there, which were quite lovely. After dinner, we drove to Bamberg and stayed up late talking to Matt and Tina Huisjen, the House directors there.

Friday
Friday-day Brad and Debbie and I went in to Bamberg to see the city. Bamberg is in Bayern (Bavaria) so the culture is a little bit different - I really enjoy the cities here. Friday night was Bible study at the Bamberg Hospitality House - it was so nice to be in a Bible study with so many people again! Bamberg is a larger base than Baumholder and has more than one brigade, so even though some of their soldiers have recently deployed, others have just returned or are even between deployments. The House was full, and we enjoyed good food, worshipping through music, a good lesson/discussion (lead by our own Brad), and lots of fun time in fellowship.

Saturday
Saturday was spent just enjoying time with the Huisjens. They have four children, ranging from 4 to 10 yrs old - Madeline, Jesse, Toby, and Bridget. We had a LOT of fun with them (and with the dog, Sandy). We took a drive out to a nearby lake to go swimming and playing with the inflateable rafts. Dinner that night was delicious - steaks and ribs and corn on the cob! Mmmm, it doesn't get much better than that!

Sunday
Sunday we said goodbye and headed back to Baumholder, with a stop on the way in Sinsheim at the Auto-technik Museum. We were checking it out for it's feasability (and desireability) as a Saturday trip for the House. It was fascinating - two huge buildings full of old classic cars and trains and planes, and a whole heap more outside. We climbed up to the cockpit of the Concord (or, since it was Russian, the sign called it the "Concordski"), and through an rickety old Bulgarian plane, and one like Indiana Jones flew on, and then slid down a kind of monster slide from the roof in a plane to the ground floor of the building below. We also checked out the IMAX 3D theatre there, and while it was pretty cool, I got rather motion sick. After leaving Sinsheim (the weather changed abruptly from bright and sunny when we went into the Concord to dark and stormy by the time we got back out), it was really very nice to come "home" and to sleep in my "own" bed.

Thinking about that made me realize - I only have a week left here!! AHHH. Then I really do get to go Home and sleep in my Own bed. Yay! I know I'm going to miss it terribly and wish I could come back (especially when I realize that Phoenix is a really brown and hot huge city and I start missing cool, green German countryside), but I'm very excited to start school again. Speaking of, please pray for me, that major decisions that have to be made SOON about school can be made - and according to God's will, even if not my own!

Bike Trip and Birthday

WHEEEEE this last weekend was AMAZING!! We went on a 4th of July bike trip up the Mosel and Rhine Rivers with 20 people from this (Baumholder/Festaburg) House, the Spangdahlem Hospitality House, and the Heidelberg House. It was incredible!

Thursday
Thursday night we all met at Roger and Sheila's house in Spangdahlem, The Hanger. They bought an old Pension (like a little privately-owned inn) and fixed it up to be their Hospitality House - and it's amazing. There are 10 bedrooms! After everyone had arrived and had a chance to sort of get to know one another, we were given our rooms and went to bed so as to be well rested for the next day.

Friday
Friday morning we ate breakfast at the Hanger, then loaded up the vans and trailers and set out for Wittlich Bahnhof, where we unloaded the bikes. Debbie and Gloria were driving the chase van (which didn't really chase us, as it beat us to every destination) with the trailer. The Spangdahlem folks didn't join us the first day, since they had a 4th of July bbq planned, but would meet up with us the next day. So, away we went! We had gorgeous weather, sunny but not too hot. (I managed to get rather spectacularly burned, but fortunately it turned to tan by the end of the trip. However, I do have a white strip down the middle of my back from my braid!) We rode from Wittlich all the way to Cochem, with a couple stops along the way for water or ice cream. In total, we road 85 kilometers on Friday in about 6 1/2 hours (that's 52 miles!). My bike battery lasted the whole way, which was AMAZING! It's supposed to last only 40-60 km in a day. :) The only problems we encountered were with Jonathan's bike, which seemed determined to break repeatedly, though each time we were fortunately near a town that had a bike shop. At the end of the day, we set up camp in Cochem, then Vincent and Jonathan and I went off to go swimming, which was a wonderful end to the day. I shared a tent with Brad and Debbie, and I froze. It was SO cold. I was in a mummy bag, on the ground, and normally I'm fine, but I didn't hardly sleep at all because I was so darn frigid. But it was great to be sleeping in a tent again!


Saturday
Saturday morning, Diane saved us all from Brad's idea of breakfast. Instead of dry rolls and jelly, we had fresh, crispy bacon, wonderful hashbrowns, and cheesy, bacony eggs. After our morning devotion and packing up camp, we set off again. Our ultimate destination today was Koblenz, a slightly shorter ride than the day before. Along the way, we stopped to hike up to Burg Eltz, which had most of us panting by the end. Once we regained our breath, we took the tour and ate lunch atop the castle. Back down the hill to our bikes, only to discover that we had several inexplicably flat tires (probably just from over-inflation after sitting in the sun). Change the tires, set out again on our journey. A while later, Jonathan's bike broke once again, but some kind man at a gas station drove home, got some tools, and fixed it for him. Tragically, it was not long after that that my bike broke - and not so reparably. The handle came off - the handle which controls the throttle and the battery. There was still a little bit of assist left, but an 80 lb bike is hard to ride up hills. I did make it to the next meeting place with the van, thanks to Brad pushing me for a while. Once we got there, my bike was loaded into the van and I rode the last 15 km to Koblenz with Debbie, Gloria, and Brad (who was driving in order to negotiate the impossibly narrow and steep ways.) We got stuck once, but Brad is skilled at backing a trailer down narrow, curving alleys, and eventually we made it to our hostel - which just so happened to be inside a 19th century fortress.


After showering, we all felt much more alive and headed over to the nearby restaurant for a delicious dinner. We ate outside, enjoying the view overlooking all of Koblenz, including the Deutsche Eck, where the Mosel and Rhine meet. When it got too cold, we moved inside for dessert and coffee. Slowly people headed back over to the hostel for bed. Vincent and I took the opportunity to take some really cool night shots of Koblenz. Then it was off to bed, to be ready for the very last day.

Sunday
Sunday morning dawned cloudy, but not threatening rain, and still pleasant temperatures. Since my bike was not functioning, I was a little sad about having to ride in the van, but riding with Sheila and Brittany was fun. Before we left, though, everyone sang Happy Birthday to me. I'm 20 years old!! I'm finally not a teenager anymore! So, the bikers left, and we took off down the hill to meet them at the next stop. When we did meet them, they were exhausted from riding against a vicious headwind for most of the way. We set off again and met in St. Goar, under the shadow of Burg Rheinfels, my favorite castle. We ate lunch and wandered around a bit, until it was time to leave. However, the clouds looked a lot darker, and Jim decided that the Heidelberg group was going to get on a train here to head back to Wittlich instead of waiting until reaching Bingen, the original end of the trip. Not quite ready to give up, the Festaburg and Hanger crews decided to ride for about another hour until we got to Bacharach. My wonderful friend Jonathan even let me ride his bike so that I could finish the trip. We set off, and I survived riding 'the demon bike' as it had come to be known for all it's breakages. It didn't break this time! We made it successfully to Bacharach, where we loaded up the vans to head back to the Hanger so the trailers could all get the right stuff loaded into them. Steve was the only person to ride the entire trip - my bike broke, Jonathan gave me his for the end, Brad had to drive the van in tricky spots, Spangdahlem joined a day late, and Heidelberg stopped early. Only Steve went the whole way - and he'd been on a bike the least! Go Steve!!

So, back at the Hanger, we unloaded Heidelberg's stuff from our trailer, had a few minutes overlap with them after they arrived from the train station, we said our goodbyes, and headed off for home. The trip was really, really great. Nothing went drastically wrong (although a bee did get stuck inside Laurel's sunglasses and manage to sting her), and everyone really seemed to enjoy themselves. We got to make new friends, or make old friends closer, and get to know people in relatively the same situations, just different locations. We saw Germany at its most gorgeous, and just overal had an amazing time. It is certainly my most memorable birthday!

La Ligne Maginot

or, The Maginot Line: a rather brilliant military installation designed by the French to prevent Germany from invading during World War II. It was basically a line of fortifications stretching from northern France all the way south to Nice along the German border, able to defend against any German onslaught. Unfortunately, Hitler decided to invade Belgium and enter France from the other side, rendering the whole ineffective, since the guns couldn't turn around the other way. Oops.

That's where we went yesterday. We went to Ouverage Simserhof, the fourth largest 'block' of the Maginot Line. Friday night we were sitting around discussing our options for Saturday's activity when Gordon suggested France, and a trip to the Maginot Line. Sounds interesting, only an hour and a half away - okay, let's go! So we did - and it was fascinating. I had never heard of it before, so it was a lot of fun to sit in between Brad and Gordon on the way there and learn all about it. We watched a movie about it in English, then took a tour on a train, with audio and video in alternating English and German. After that was over, we took a walking tour throughout the entire block with our German guide. (I got to be the translator - and I don't think I did too badly!) It was really very cool - much cooler than I thought it would be.

After the three hour tour, we drove another 10 kilometers to another block, one that hadn't been turned into a museum, where we could climb up top and see the raise-able (I know there's a better word in English, but it escapes me at the moment) gun towers. It was a lot of fun, and we had a full van. Poor Happy actually had to stay behind because there weren't enough seats. Debbie and Nellie were away on the PWOC retreat, so I was the only girl, which was pretty fun. :)

The rest of the week has been great, too. Wednesday night we had a record number of soldiers at the house, and Friday night was very large, as well. Mac had a four day weekend so he was here helping me clean and cook on Friday after Debbie left. Saturday was our French adventure and movie night, Sunday was church and a nice big lunch, followed by an afternoon of Catchphrase and other games. I played more chess this weekend than I have in the last 10 months, which was fun, even though I lost most of the games. And today, I laughed more with Mac and Nellie than I have laughed in a very, very long time, to the point where breathing was painful (or impossible) and smiling hurt. It was great.

And now I can say I've been to France!

Train Travel

"Tomorrow's going to be quite the day" hahahahaha silly me. How innocently and happily I said that!

Well, all in all, my luggage probably weighs at least 180 lbs, if not as high as 200. (something I intend to work on while I'm here - what can I get rid of??) And I got to take it all the way across Germany on the trains. Well, the first train was fine, Peter helped me get it all on the train, there were no steps, and there was lots of open space for it to stand out of the way. When I got to Osnabrück, a nice lady from my first train said she had extra time, and helped me get my bags. I had to go from platform 13 to platform 2 in 5 minutes, but a very nice Schaffner (I'm not sure of the English word) opened up the service elevator for us, and we made it in plenty of time. YAY! So, Osnabrück to Mainz was my long train ride. A nice gentleman helped me get my bags up the stairs of the train and into a luggage rack. Getting off the train was an adventure, I had no one to help me, and they kind of collapsed down the stairs, but fortunately everyone was standing far enough back that no one was injured. (how embarassing!) I cannot count the times I had to tell my story to people wondering why on earth I had sooo much luggage. Well, here in Mainz I ran into some difficulties. I went to Platform 3a where my train was supposed to be, but the train I'd been on was too late. So, it said the next train to Idar came on platform 1b. Back upstairs. Nope, that train's not coming, go to 4a. Back downstairs. (fortunately, there were elevators!!) No train. Wait! 4b! AHHH there's the train, RUN FOR IT! So, I managed somehow to run with my bags, and caught the train. Managed to get my luggage on it (no stairs!!) and into a seat. Whooo. Well, then the train decided it wasn't going to go to Idar like the schedule said, it stopped in Kirn - one stop too early. So, I get off at Kirn, and it says next train to Idar-Oberstein, Platform 1. I'm on Platform 3, and there are tracks between me and my destination - and no elevators. It was a desperate moment. Somehow, I managed to get all my bags downstairs, across the tracks, and back upstairs. The handle broke off of one suitcase. But I made it.

Now, if you know me, you know I'm not exactly strong...and I tend to be kind of a wimp. This was a herculean effort for me - and I did it!! And then I saw the train - and it had steps. My arms were already shaking from their efforts, and thank the Lord some young man managed (barely - I told you they were heavy!) to get my bags on the train. He helped me get them off, and as he unloaded the second bag, there were Brad and Rob and Will, helping me, taking my burdens, and filling me with such an unbelievable sense of relief. It was over!! I made it - and I didn't have to carry those darn bags any more!! I collapsed into the back of Brad's van and was so happy to finally be there.

We came back to the Festaburg, my wonderful boyfriend carried my bags up the stairs for me, and I had 5 minutes to recoup before we rushed off to a Bible study on Post. Very fun - great people. And good food! Then it was back here, unpack a bit, and sweet, sweet sleep.


The moral of the story is: train is only my favorite way to travel if I have one suitcase or less. I NEVER, ever want to do that again.

Tiffany's Trip

Well, this was a fun weekend. Tiffany Pritchard took a weekend out of her semester abroad in England to come visit. Now, this is especially interesting when you realize the fact that we've technically never met before...but don't worry, neither of us are totally random strangers. She went to NCS, too, for a bit, and we had a great many of the same friends there, so we've talked before and heard stories on one another. The thing is, when you're over here, if anyone you know - or sort of know - is on the same continent, you just have to get together. You can't let something like that pass you by!

She flew in Thursday night and I picked her up, and Friday morning we set out at a nice dark 7 am for Munich. The drive is about 8 hours, and since it was the day after Thanksgiving - despite Thanksgiving not existing in Germany - we listened to Christmas music the whole way there. Our goal was Dachau, one of the largest concentration camps, which still stands as a memorial today. We got in about 4:30, meaning it was already dark, and there was still some snow laying on the roofs and the gravel was icy. The first time I ever visited a concentration camp was 7 years ago when PCC went to Mathausen in Austria. I'll never forget the experience, but I think this one was even more impacting. Perhaps it's just because we were in Mathausen on a sunny summer's day, and here in Dachau we visited in the dark, the bitingly cold and windy and wet late fall. Walking across the roll call area between the main building and the barracks, it really made me think a lot more about what life there might actually have been like. You can go into one of the two remaining barracks and see where the prisoners lived, and I can't imagine how awful, and how cold, it must have been. The walls and floors are bare wood, the beds three on top of eachother, no space in between - at one point a room that was supposed to house 60 men held about 400, crammed into these beds. There's a museum in the old kitchen/office building at the camp, across the parade ground from the barracks. We didn't have enough time Friday night to look through all of it, because the memorial closes at 5, so we came back Saturday morning to get another chance to go through. There's so much information, so much horror and pain and tragedy. There was a Nazi demonstration in Vechta last weekend, and it makes me wonder, after seeing things like this, how can people possibly want to go back to that? I know it's just a select, sick few who venerate the Nazi way of life, but how can someone even think of doing this to another human? It makes me ill.
So, the rest of the trip was fun. We stayed overnight in Munich in a hostel, a first for both of us. Happily, none of the horror stories we've all heard were true for us. The hostel was clean and safe and pleasant. There were four other girls in our room, two of whom were British and we spoke to for about a minute before going to bed, two others we only saw as shapes in dark beds as we left early the next morning. After our second forray into Dachau, we went to downtown Munich for souvenirs and the like. In the process, I encounted the most annoying parking experience EVER. We waited in line to get into the parking garage for a good 40 minutes. Yes. Really. It - and the others - were so full that you had to wait at the ticket machine until someone left, then go hunt down their old parking spot. Ha. I had to try and park at AZ Mills on Black Friday last year. Europe, not having Thanksgiving, must do everything the Saturday after, because this was i.n.s.a.n.e. Parking at the mall would have been a breeze compared to this.

We walked around the festive and decorative downtown Munich for a couple hours, enjoying the Christmas-specialty smells and fighting the crowds. The only time I've seen anything here this crowded is the day we went to Heidelberg. Lots and lots and lots and lots of people! But it was fun nonetheless. Then, sadness, it was time to go home. Back in the car with the Christmas music! We had no traffic on the autobahns the whole weekend, but getting out of Munchen was gridlock for a looong time. Then there was the adventure of trying to find food and not being able to, of Jane not sticking to the windshield because she was cold, and of adventuring trying to find our way home because the autobahn (#33) was closed and we had to try and find our way in the dark because Jane was insistent on taking it. Whee. Fun times.

Up again this morning to beautiful sunshine and blue skies! It has since changed and is drearily gray and cold and rainy out, but on our way to the airport it was lovely. Tiffany is now back in England, and going home in 2 weeks! Wow. Part of me almost wishes I was here for a semester thing like that, but everyone says the last 6 months go by SO fast, so here's hoping!