Goats, Ice Cream, and Kraft Uebung...

Bonjour-No I'm not in France. At least not yet anyway.

Greetings from good ol' Germany :) Today Frauke, Jan, Maya and I walked to a farm nearby and fed the goats. They were so adorable and Jan (2 years and 4 months) loved every minute of it. Later all of us walked to Hahnenklee for ice cream, followed by the bakery. Then we took the kids to the park to give them something to do. We stayed there for hours and eventually made our way back home for a late dinner. We had Flammkuchen and Pizza, yummy :) Gotta love eating copious amounts of carbs, which I definitely do.

I spoke with Anke's mom today and I'm planning on sleeping over at her house for a night when I'm in Tuebingen. Feels good to be this loved :) Haha. I've got my real family, and then I have my German "families."

It's 9:20, still light out, and I'm sitting here on the deck, looking out into the forest, the beautiful Harz mountains, breathing the fresh air...loving life :)

Love to All, Molly

Hannover and Hildesheim, with a little Michael Jackson mixed in...

Hallo! 

Yesterday Frauke's mom drove me to the train station in Goslar. She was so sweet--and afraid that I'd get lost or something, haha--so she wrote her phone number down and the bus times for the next day when I had to come back. Anyway from there I took the train to Hildesheim where Chris picked me up. We then met up with Claudi in Hannover. We went shopping, saw the sites--goverment buildings, monuments, churches, etc. We met up with Benedikt somewhere along the way, who was with a friend. That night we met up with some others and went to the bar, was a good time. My drink was 7 Euro 90 though--expensive! We did get some free drinks though, and the people working there took a picture of us and put it on their website. So that's was pretty cool.

Last night we slept and Chris's and then this morning we headed to Hildesheim. It was a cute little town, and it had the most important thing to me: an ice dealer! So we had ice cream---I had my usual--you know the drill. After that we met up with a couple that Chris is friends with. We went through some beautiful gardens in Hannover, and then went out to eat at a greek restaurant. We especially enjoyed their napkins with greek words on them and their German translation. haha.

Another highlight of the weekend: the Michael Jackson announcements. He was all over the radio here in Germany! I understand he was great and everything, but, come on. They've announced his death about 10 million times here! The whole weekend the running joke was, "Did you know that Michael Jackson died?"

Anyway, I headed back to Hahnenklee this afternoon, kind of sad because I'm going to miss Claudi a lot :( Chris I'll see anyway because he is studying at Oakland in the fall. 

Anyway, I should probably sleep.

Gute Nacht, Molly

Humidity & Rain...Was sonst?

Hallo :)

Today it was warm out and extremely humid, so when Ines & Jan came to visit with their son Frederic, we walked down to the pond so that the kids could play. Eventually we made our way to Hahnenklee, where we all ate that delicious ice cream that I love so much.  Today I also discovered a cute little shop that sells books, tea, postcards, and all the crap a tourist like me could ever want to buy. Haha. Also made my way to the bakery to get some croissants.

Ines asked if I still want to come to Germany and nanny for them next year. It's a thought, would be very cool :) First I'm going to enjoy this trip and see where it all takes me. 

Big day tomorrow :)

Adios, Molly

Rain, Rain, Go Away...

Today Frauke had to take Jan to the doctor because he had a fever, so my morning involved figuring out how I'm getting to Tuebingen (which is in southern Germany) from here. I'm visiting Angi for a long weekend in a few weeks and I needed to book the ticket. Since I waited until just 2 weeks before I could only buy a first class train ticket! But it'll be worth it :) It's a 6 hour train ride, a lot longer than I expected. Thought Germany was smaller than that...

But anyway, it rained today...blah. Which means we had 3 kids cooped up in the house...not exactly the best thing for growing boys and a baby, who all need fresh air. After it stopped we did eventually get out for a walk. It was ridiculously foggy out but that made the pictures I took today more interesting.

I'm already looking forward to this weekend. A little R & R with Claudia and Chris will be great.

Too tired to type more.

Good night, Molly

Goslar

Hi :) Today we went to Goslar for the day while Frauke and Jan got hair cuts. I was surprised to find out that for Jan to get a haircut and for Frauke to get a cut and highlights it only cost 60 Euro! At home it'd cost 150 dollars plus tip to get my hair cut and highlighted! Should've waited and gotten my hair cut here :)

Goslar is a cute little town. I want to explore it myself soon without the kids in tow. It's a bit hard to look in shops when you're pushing around a double stroller. I saw a tee shop, cheap clothing stores, etc. And I'd also love to sit and drink coffee or tea outside at one of those outdoor cafes. I think we need more of those in the U.S.!

It's warming up here in Germany. Today I just wore my t-shirt most of the day. But it's nothing like the weather back in Michigan. I hear it's in the 90s or something? ugh! Crazy...and I'm definitely not jealous.

I'm looking forward to everything that is going on here. This weekend I am meeting Claudi and Chris in Hannover, which will be very cool. And I have lots of exciting things coming up.

Viele Gruesse, Molly

Fresh Air

Hello All,

Today was just another day in Germany :-) The weather isn't as warm as it is in Michigan right now, so I had to wear a sweater all day. Not too bad though. Today Frauke and I walked with the kids to Hahnenklee via the Liebesweg Nature Trail. It has different little things on the way for couples---like a swing, which is why it's called the Liebesweg.

When we got to Hahnenklee we ate ice cream again. It's my goal to eat ice cream everyday while I'm here (not kidding). We also went to the bakery and I bought Erdbeerkuchen (strawberry cake) and a cookie. Feels good to be able to eat German food again!

The time is still messing me up a bit, but it's getting better. Tomorrow we're heading to Goslar, which will be exciting. More tomorrow.

Tschuess (Bye), Molly

First Full Day

After having slept for 14 hours last night I was ready to go today. At around 4pm Frauke and I took Jan and Maya (ages 2 1/2 and 9 months) to Hahnenklee. It was maybe a mile or so to the downtown, which is so gorgeous and filled with youth hostels, hotels, and cute little shops. 

We went to ice dealer for some ice cream--I've waited so long to have German ice cream! I had 2 scoops--chocolate and after 8 (mint-like). The 2 ice cream scoops together were about half the size of 1 American scoop! Definitely the right size, and very yummy!

It's kind of cold here-I have to wear a jacket, which is strange for me this time of year. I don't mind it though, as most of you know---I'm not a big fan of the sun. But anyway, I just looked in my suitcase and realized that I only brought 2 long shirts. So basically I'm going to have to do some shopping....

Bye for now, Molly

Arrival :)

Hi Everyone!

Yesterday I made the long journey from Bloomfield Township, MI, USA, to Hahnenklee, Niedersachsen, Germany. I headed over with a German family that lives near me. I'm helping watch the kids while we're here. Anyway, the flight wasn't too bad even though Frauke and I had 3 kids to worry about.... But the 8 hour flight was incredibly tedious, and might I add the fact that I didn't sleep at all and the chicken they served was rather disgusting? But I digress...

We did eventually arrive at the airport in Frankfurt am Main, where one of her friends came to pick us up. But the fun doesn't end there...there was a 4 hour drive to Niedersachsen from there! It was worth it though. I couldn't sleep at all because I was just enjoying the gorgeous view.

Once we made it here I took a 4 hour nap. When I woke up I felt a bit better but still chose to stay in my sleeping attire. So I made a really good impression on the kids grandparents when I first met them today---in my pajamas. Well at least I had a bra on I guess. That's something.

I am really and truly exhausted, but I guess you can't get somewhere this beautiful without having to pay your dues just a bit :) I'm expecting tomorrow to be a pretty amazing day.

Over and out, Molly :)

T minus 2 weeks and counting

Hi Everyone!

There are just 2 short weeks until I leave for Europe, and I still have so much to do! I addition to packing I need to run all of those last minute errands. I'm going to be away for 2 months, so it's necessary that I'm prepared. My trip will be starting in Northern Germany, then I will be moving on to Southern Germany, and after that I will be heading to the Netherlands for the remainder of my stay. :) I will update again once I have arrived. Cheers, Molly