Welcome to Germany!

Well, I have arrived safely in Germany on Sunday the 14^th. The flight was smooth and I sat next to a polite, extremely quiet Romanian woman. Normally, I have trouble sleeping on flights but this time I opted for some help. Two Dramamine did the trick. I was able to sleep most of the flight which was good and bad. The good was I wasn’t too terribly tired upon arrival. The bad was that the film selection of the flight was great. There were at least 4 movies I wanted to see. Oh well…I had no trouble getting through passport control and only a few questions through customs and then it was out into Frankfurt. Waiting for me was my friend, Andrea, and her dad, Karl. I have to tell you, it’s so wonderful to come into the country and be greeted by friends. It was a wonderful surprise to have Karl there as well. He is one of the sweetest people I know. And Andrea has been a great friend since our first meeting at Starbucks. We both volunteered to be conversation partners with a program at UA which randomly paired people together based on the language they wanted. Our first meeting was at the Starbucks in the Ferg. I was nervous but that didn’t last long. We spent our time alternating our conversations between German and English. She corrected my German and I her English. It works great! She moved back to Germany but we have kept in touch over the years and we continue to correct each other’s languages…in a nice way of course. Ok…so now back to the day…We then headed for home. Well, not really my home but I consider it my home in Germany, Sinzheim. Andrea’s mom, Melanie, opted not to come to airport but rather stayed home to cook lunch. I must say…I missed seeing her smiling face at the airport but it was a wonderful decision. When we got there, we were greeted with a warm smile and a big hug. My parents need not worry about me when I am in Germany, I have the most caring family to take care of me. Lunch was delicious! We ate white asparagus…which I had never had but it was good…with hollandaise sauce, ham, and thin pancakes. I could’ve eaten several but didn’t want to make myself sick on my arrival day. Of course, I jumped right into speaking German or at least attempted to. It’s extremely difficult on the first day to really focus. I did my best to carry on a conversation and Andrea did her part on helping and correcting me. I love having someone I trust to give me pointers. I’m still learning. Anywho, Karl and Melanie are the sweetest people ever and are quite understanding of my grammar mistakes. They even do their best to change from badisch, their dialect, to High German. Although I must admit, I really love the challenge of comprehending the dialect. I think a few more visits and I might throw a few badisch words into my conversation. Either way, we get along wonderfully and I could spend hours just sitting around the table talking with them about this and that.

After lunch, Andrea and I headed to her apartment to drop off my things and rest a little. We both wanted a nap but knew it was in our best interest to stay awake. I REALLY wanted a shower. I felt disgusting after the long flight. After a quick shower I felt more like myself. We sat on the balcony and enjoyed a cup of coffee. Around 5, we went back to her parents’ for a bar-b-que. Now grilling is a little different in Germany than in Alabama. Here we used an electric grill and the meat was bought directly from the butcher already seasoned. I must say, it’s to die for. We had sausages, chicken, lamb, and pork in a variety of marinades. We grilled last year as well and it is always a wonderful time. With the meat, came a mixture of sauces, bread, and a tomato mozzarella salad. I could eat that almost every day if I could. For the bar-b-que, Melanie’s sister, Hannelore, and Andrea’s friend, Simone, and Simone’s son, Felix, joined us. It was a nice evening on the back patio. I was still fairly quiet, which for those of you who know me, is unusual. I was still mentally out to lunch but did my best to stay alert. For dessert there was sampler platter of cakes. I had a nice piece of Bienenstick cake and that was it for me. My eyes got really heavy and given a little more time, my head would’ve hit the table. We said our good-byes and headed back to Andrea’s. As I mentioned previously, the World Cup is taking place and everyone is proud to be German. And they should be after the game against Australia; Germany won 4-0. We didn’t watch the whole game but we didn’t really need to. Every time Germany scored, you could hear horns being blown. After the game was over, people would honk their horns on their way home. It’s a wonderful atmosphere to be in even if it is a little loud at times. I headed to bed early, about 10:30, because I had an early start on Monday.

My first full day in Germany started at 6:30. I got up, got ready, and packed once again, only this time in a backpack, before heading into Baden-Baden with Andrea for breakfast. She then had to go to work and I walked around the city for a couple of hours before finding a shady park bench. There is a beautiful alley, Lichtentaler Allee, in Baden-Baden with water flowing through. There I spent at least an hour people watching and reading. It was a relaxing morning. I took the bus to the train station around noon to catch my train to Bochum. The trip to Bochum takes about 5 hours. The route I had to take was through Heidelberg and I had to change trains. I was quite lucky today because I almost missed the stop. I was sound asleep on the train when I woke up only to see the Heidelberg Hbf sign out my window. I pretty much jumped over the man sitting next to me and ran off the train. Apparently I still had a few minutes but it was quite a scary moment. Now I’m sure you’re wondering why I chose to head from Baden-Baden to Bochum. Well, I went to grad school with one of the greatest people in the world, Valarie Jones. She now lives in Herne, just outside of Bochum, with her boyfriend of 5 years, Werner. Since I was in Germany, I wanted to spend some time with her. We still keep in touch via email and Christmas/Birthday presents but it’s just not the same as visiting in person. She was waiting for me at the train station with a huge smile on her face. It’s funny that I’ve been speaking German the past 24 hours and I meet up with Val and all of a sudden speak English. We both went to school for German and yet we enjoy a little English between us. When Werner comes into the picture, we revert back to German with no trouble. It’s a great thing to be able to go between the two…even though Val thinks Werner should practice his English a little =) Any who, we then went from the train station straight to Werner’s office so he could show me around a little. Last year I visited but mostly with Valarie. I’m now getting to know Werner and I really like him. He’s friendly, funny, and goes great with Val. I’m glad they found one another. After seeing his office, we headed to their apartment to exchange a few gifts and have a wonderful dinner. Dinner, like bar-b-queing, is a little different in Germany and I just love it! It entails, normally, different types of rolls with a variety of meats and cheeses. My favorites are the pumpkin seed rolls or the ones with poppy seeds. I could eat 3 or 4 before making myself sick. We also had some red bell pepper, cucumber, and tomatoes to balance it out. It’s simple and delicious. After dinner we went for a nice walk. The weather is perfect right now. A little cool with a slight breeze…I love it! It was after 10 when we got back and it was just beginning to get dark. Seems strange to adjust to but after a day or 2 it’s not so bad. While there’s really not, it seems as if there is more time in the day. We all made ourselves comfortable in the living room to watch a little tv. We watched Burn Notice and Boston Legal…in German of course. I must say, Shatner sounds better in German ;) Then we decided we should get some sleep since they have to work tomorrow...don’t worry, my working days are coming.

Now I really do love to travel but have come to a realization; it’s nice to arrive to a familiar place first before heading off into unknown territory. As I walked leisurely around Baden-Baden this morning, it was relaxing. I knew the area and was familiar with the streets. It was a nice, stress free feeling. I can’t wait to see new places but am grateful to have a familiar place to begin. Of course, it helps to have family there waiting. Maybe that’s the key to travel; always have a loving family waiting at the arrivals gate =)