Sunday, February 28, 2010

Beer halls...

On Friday I spent the day with Susanne and her kids in Munich. That evening we all went out, to a beer hall, with Nancy and her family, Christine and hers...I ate roast beef and drank a radler...it was a good time.

Saturday I bummed around Augsburg with Christine and her family. I ate ice cream, drank chocolate milk, and ate a ton of sandwiches. Last night I got paid (in Euros to babysit. The kids were asleep when I got there. So I got paid to watch TV. Not bad.

Today I'm going to see a kinderfilm with Ingo and the kids while Christine works at the Flohmarkt. Then I will take the train to stay with Susanne. She's driving me to the airport tomorrow morning. This has all gone by so fast!

Bye, Molly

Friday, February 26, 2010

I have amazing directional sense....

Grüss Euch!!!!

Yesterday morning Ingo drove me to downtown Augsburg so I could catch a train to Munich. I of course headed to the bakery first. I consider my hot chocolate and baguette fix to be very important. After arriving on platform 4, there was an announcement saying that the train would be delayed. Surprise, surprise. I didn`t exactly mind it... I must have been on an express train because I arrived in Munich in about 30 minutes. If only that had been the end of my dealing with public transportation for the day...

I was told by Lotte to take the U-bahn to get to her place. All I had to do was go in a specific direction and get off after 2 stops. Of course, I took the train going in the opposite direction and it ended up taking me about 30 minutes before I eventually got to where I was supposed to be. Angi and Lotte were there to greet me, laughing. Funny guys. We ate lunch in Lotte`s WG, and it was truly Bavarian-those large prezels and weisswurst. Yummy! I did add an American twist to it though-ketchup! Don`t kill me...I am somewhat American!

After that we did a bit of walking around downtown Munich. I didn`t buy anything-wasn`t hard, I don`t have much money anyway. Having gotten the shopping bug out of ourselves, we headed to Starbucks. I have never seen a Starbucks so busy! Ok, it was a beautiful day in one of the most touristic cities in the world, but still... I got my usual double chocolate chip frap, but it was pretty damn expensive and in Euros to boot. We felt pretty sophisticated sitting outside, sipping our ridiculously expensive drinks.

We walked around a bit more, then through the English Gardens, and then found ourselves back at Lotte`s place. We had a movie night in her WG. They just got a new TV there, a huge flatscreen, and we wanted to enjoy it. We ended up renting the Departed, and I have to say that is one of the worst movies I`ve ever seen. But add a glass of wine and chocolate to that, and you see everything in a different light. I enjoyed the movie nigh despite the film.

Now I am sitting in Lotte`s room, trying to figure out what I will do with my day. I hope I don`t get lost on the trains today, cross your fingers for me!!!

Bye, Molly

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Bummeln

Grüß Gott!!! I know I've become so Bavarian...haha. Well anyway--here I sit, in an internet cafe in Dowtown Augsburg, across from the train station. My day started at 7am, ladies and gents...I know, I can hardly believe it myself! However, it has been totally worth it.

I spent my first two hours in the downtown area simply wandering around. I came across beautiful churches, historic buildings, and a religious hospital run strictly by nuns. I am totally and completely fascinated by this beautiful city.

After having wandered around enough, I developed an extreme amount of hunger. Having something from the local bakery just wasn't going to cut it today. When I came across a sign for a fancy Italian restaurant, I decided to splurge. So I went in, sat down, and enjoyed drinking coke out of a wine glass while eating Spaghetti Carbonara and reading the book Dear John. What could be better?? Was worth every cent :)

I have yet to eat an ice cream today, I can't fit it in my stomach just yet, hmmm...maybe I should go walk that pasta off.

Tschüß und bis später, Molly

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Movies, Shopping, Ice Cream....ya know :)

Hi All,

Yesterday involved sleeping in late, and going out to the movies with Christine in the evening. We saw the movie An Education, a British art film that was dubbed into German. The idea of the film was cool. Young girl meets older man, older man shows her the world. The film was a dissapointment, however. Not much to it. Could've been a bit deeper. But it was still fun and we had a good time discussing the plot.

Today I slept in late, then Christine and I went shopping which was fun. I bought a few shirts from Esprit and S. Oliver. How I've missed those stores! We also at ice cream...I had stracciatella and after 8 (mint). After that we went to downtown Augsburg and walked around. We ate pflammkuchen for dinner----kind of like pizza, and I have the most delicious hot chocolate ever---nothing like the american kind. This one is made with milk, and they give you a small cookie with it too!

Tomorrow I am hoping to take the train to a random German city alone..I'm pretty excited.

Bye, Molly

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Willkommen in Deutschland

Hello All,

My journey started this past Thursday, when I was dropped off at the airport. The 3 hours I had to wait to fly to Philly were pure torture. I just wanted to get to Germany already! When I did get on that plane to Philly, I nearly had a heart attack when I saw how small the plane was. However, I took a deep breath, sucked it up, and...surprise. It wasn't all that bad.

Upon arriving in Philly, a woman wearing a Harley Davidson tshirt began to talk to me. I'd judged her before she even opened her mouth, but she was actually really nice. I learned that she was traveling to Italy to visit some relatives. She is American but her father is Italian and her mother is German. Interesting who you meet on your way somewhere...

While sitting in the waiting area at the aiport in Philly, I met a German couple with a cute little girl named Ana. The mother's name was Anke. Very weird, since I am close friends with a family that has a mother and child that have the same names. When I got on the plane I was supposed to be sitting next to a large man, but,as luck would have it, there was a whole row free somewhere! It was right behind the German couple with the cute little girl. So, I sat behind them, played with the girl for a while, then tried to sleep. I was laying down, across all 4 seats, and I still couldn't sleep. Talk about the princess and the pea!

When I arrived in Munich, Christine was there to greet me with a big hug, and a brezel. We also stopped off for some starbucks. I wanted iced something...wait what? Not in Germany. I had hot tea instead. We headed to her house and watched Sturm der Liebe, one of those ridiculous soap operas. Was amusing... then we picked up the boys from Kindergarten. I was so excited to see them. From there we headed to Allgaeu, a vacation from my vacation, so to speak. We stayed at a bed and breakfast there. The owners are farmers, so there were cows, chickens, bunnies, etc. It was very cool to see.
The beds were comfortable, the view of the mountains was beautiful, and I fell in love with it from the start. It honestly looked unreal.


Today I accompanied the family while they went skiing. I don't ski---shocker---so I stayed at the bottom of the mountain and read and listened to music. Oh did I mention that when I tried to climb up a mini hill I fell on my ass 3 times? Talk about embarrassing. I didn't look anyone in the eye after that. Not that you should do that in Germany anyway---I think it's a sign that somebody wants something from you.


On the way back from Allgaeu we visited Christine's grandma, as there was a birthday party going on for her little cousin there. It was interesting to see more of the German family dynamics. I'm surprised to note that families are nearly the same everywhere. I mean, they all have their cultural differences...ie: German birthday parties involve cake and coffee at about 3---but the kidding around, the laughing, the hugs, the sharing of pictures...is basically universal.

And still, during all of thise, I'm trying to figure out what I want to do this coming year. I think I already know the answer: I have to study in Germany. Not Austria, but Germany. The country that I've fallen in love with.

Back in Augsburg. Time to do some unpacking.

Best, Molly